Ian,
let me join Anthony and Katherine in praising last week's bulb log. The story of your troughs was interesting, and I enjoyed the introduction about the Rhodohypoxis. They thrive in our wet and cool summers, and clump up rapidly. Four years ago I started planting some out in the garden, like you have done, just to see how they would do. They did well the first two very wet winters, they did OK the third winter which was cold but with good snow cover. Last winter I was certain they would disappear, as it was the coldest on record here and no snow for the first six weeks, -a local builder told me the ground was frozen to 1 m (3') depth. In the last four weeks they have stated reappearing, reduced in number but still there. Most of those that survived are a deep rose coloured Tetra, but in one group some smaller (not tetra ?) soft pink are also back. The only one that hasn't bloomed yet this year is R. deflexa, but that is always much later than the others.
Knud