Saturday 28 February 2015

Crocuses in the spotlight

Over the last couple of years, when my pot-planted Crocuses have finished flowering I have put them in the ground at the bases of my mature trees, where they have become naturalised. Now each year I get an effortless display of small but plentiful Crocus flowers.




It's always the blue ones that come up first. Almost all the ones flowering at present are blue or purple. I've lost track of their names, but I can see that there are three distinctly different types.






Crocuses are really useful bulbs. They are small enough to be able to fit into all those little patches of spare space, and they provide a welcome splash of colour very early in the year, when there is not much colour about.






They are not all blue though...


This orange one is "Orange Monarch", which I bought last Autumn.


I have 10 bulbs growing in a pot.


They are very strikingly coloured, but also rather disappointingly small. With a name like "Orange Monarch" I had expected them to be "regal"!

16 comments:

  1. You are taunting me with those spring flowers in the sunshine. It all looks so warm and inviting there.

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    1. That was yesterday! Today it is back to cold grey drizzle. At least we don't have 4 feet of snow though.

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  2. I like the colour of Orange Monarch. I'm growing white ones this year, I thought they were cream when I picked up the packet but white will be nice for a change. I think they'll flower within the next couple of days.

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  3. I was under the impression that crocuses were purple only! The Orange Monarchs are beautiful. As for the ones on the ground, they look spectacular blooming in clumps like that!

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  4. Thank you for the breath of spring. No chance of my crocuses blooming anytime soon buried as they are under snow.

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  5. Beautiful colours, Crocus are great wee bursts of colour, I have a few varieties in my alpine troughs, adding some colour before everything else does their thing there :)

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  6. They do look lovely. I planted many crocuses in a small bed at my first house, right next to the front door, & really enjoyed them. I should look at adding a few more bulbs to empty spots in my garden....I often get so caught up with the veg side of things that I completely forget about the ornamentals.

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  7. My crocuses have started to flower. A welcome splash of colour :)

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  8. I'm with Daphne on this.... I can almost feel the warmth of the sun... wait, no I can't.

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  9. Those orange monarchs are glorious! Wow! I love croci :)

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  10. Great gsrden tips, photos, friends and results! I need to quit knitting and start cultivating. Thanks for your impetus, Annette

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  11. We have six raised beds that I have neglected two years. What soil amendments should I put to jump-start it for summer vegetables? I am new at blogging and was so glad to bump into you blog. Annette, Georgia, USA

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    1. If it were me, I would add some pelleted chicken manure and some (preferably home-grown) compost.

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  12. I love crocuses! Small but so welcome, and they pack a punch when their numbers swell in time.

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