Rupert, the usual time of year to buy these is in late summer/early
autumn since Lachenalias are winter growers. Van Tubergen used to sell
quite a few species and varieties of Lachenalia including viridiflora,
but I've not seen one of their catalogues for quite a few years.
Chilterns sell the seeds and generally, Lachenalias only take a couple
of years at the most to flower so that's a realistic option if you
can't track down any bulbs. Just one thing though, there's really no
comparison in the intensity or quality of colour between Strongylodon
and this Lachenalia. The latter is significantly paler and can vary
considerably to being almost translucent turquoise in some forms.
Still its a very pretty little thing and a potful on the windowsill
provides an unusual splash of colour early in the year.