What nerines mean

In the Victorian language of flowers the nerine stood for freedom and good fortune, partly because of the story that the first bulbs washed up on Guernsey from a shipwreck and flowered in the sand.

Whatever the truth of that, they are tough. Each stem carries a loose head of curled, glittering pink petals, and a vase of them will last two weeks.

They are one of the flowers we are most often asked for in sympathy bouquets. They are gentle without being sombre.