yes to both, I think it could be sparaxis or harlequin flower, many thanks. I am in Jersey and near the sea (the rockery has a sea view) so we are probably earlier than many places in UK and not that prone to frost. The fact that sparaxis is one of the iris family is much closer in type of leaf than a tulip. I am definitely going to try and track down some more. Thanks very much for all the suggestions.
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