Cyclamen hederifolium is a shade loving plant and moreover does fine in deep, dry shade which is one of the toughest spots in a garden to find suitable plants for. Not only that it flowers in late summer/early autumn whereas most shade lovers bloom in spring when more light filters through the bare trees.
 It really has a lot to offer as it can form drifts of white and pink flowers followed by a carpet of ivy shaped leaves, attractively patterned and variegated in green and silvery shades. There are several patches at the back of the garden that were already here when I moved in which have been steadily increasing year by year. In one of those minor miracles of nature the seeds have a starchy coating which changes to sugar thereby attracting ants who carry them off and spread them around.
 It's not a wild flower as such in the UK but it sometimes proliferates from gardens and naturalises in shady spots roundabout. The photograph above for example was taken last week when I saw numerous Cyclamen making themselves at home in the hedgerow surrounding a village green in Hertfordshire.