crocus

I am a fan of crocus and love the great sheets of purple, yellow and white flowers that spread across some late winter lawns.  I generally prefer the smaller species and hybrids to the larger flowering 'Dutch' crocus but am no purist and all of them just require good drainage and some sun. Crocus are tough and generally pest free - sparrows are meant to rip the flowers apart but the few that visit prefer to stuff their beaks at the feeders and mice supposedly dig up and ravenously eat the corms but those here are too full on visitor leftovers to dig. 

It is apparent that many visitors don't look down (I grew up with a garden and dogs so this is second nature) and without some protection they soon fall foul of big stupid feet.  They do well tucked where they can peek out sheltered beside pots and rocks and open their flowers with the smallest show of sun. On warm days they release a rich honey scent and so my knees are muddy again.

   

 chrysanthus 'Cream Beauty" (the earliest) 

  'Pickwick"

 seiberi tricolor

 tommasinianus 'Whitewell Purple'

'Joan of Arc"

thomas in what?

Its the end of winter!  You can always tell as pointed buds of Crocus tommasinianus push up throughout the garden next to planters and in paving cracks.  Called winter flowering crocus they are some of the first bulbs to get going and only open their flowers when the temperatures are high enough - that means its spring in my mind!  

All the books say these will seed themselves about, whether they do or not it's easy enough to stuff some corms here and there each autumn, and they are very forgiving.  Unlike most crocus they will flower in semi-shade and don't need the actual touch of sun beams to open.  

In St Giles church front garden next door I planted three thousand of these four years ago, my knees remember that well, and they look great - even with the inevitable foot prints squashed right through them.