Gladiola?

Hi, have a look at Gladiolus communis subspecies byzantium, Derek.

Yes I agree with Derek.

By Jove, Derek, you're spot on! Thank you.
Where on earth has it come from - I didn't plant it! I read that it grows from a corm.

What a great specimen! I have a small clump thanks to kind Goy member but its not nearly as tall as that one!

Dead easy from seed, to the extent that they can become a bit of a pest. Probably came in a plant you bought, or in come compost.

Hi, yes they form a corm, which they are by the time they flower, but they start out as seeds, as Owdboggy says, Derek.

Well I've no idea from whence it came but I'm very glad it did & I hope it stays. It's 110cm tall with 15 florets.

I shall think of it as a gift from the birds.

Hard to imagine a pretty thing like that becoming a pest though! Perhaps you'll get a few more eventually then.

The corms multiply like rabbits, if they like a spot, and if the seed pods are allowed to ripen, seedlings soon appear far and wide. The seedlings look like harmless grass, the first year or two. To stop this, cut the flower spikes off as soon as they fade, and dig up the clump and throw away all but the biggest two or three corms, every two or three years.

Thanks for the advice, Tug.