Clivia miniata

You are lucky to be able to visit the gardens frequently Meanie ..

Just waiting for ours to flower....

I agree Amy. Costs just twelve quid for a season ticket too!

I wish that I had the space DD!

That's very reasonable Meanie :o)

It is when you visit every few weeks!

I would think you could grow this one outside. At least inside a greenhouse the snails can't eat the flowers. This is a very common plant here; however, the snail love to eat the flowers.

Generally regarded as a house plant here - too expensive to experiment with as well.

I wouldn't think it to be expensive. It's such an inexpensive plant here. Most people here just get division of plants since it's such a common plant (I don't believe for paying for common plants).

Supply and demand drives prices everywhere. This will require more effort and resources to grow commercially in Europe, so I guess that drives the price up too.

Yes, there's always the economics of supply and demand. I'm guessing because it doesn't grow well outside, it can't be grown on a large scale like here.