The snow crocus season has begun. Though often listed as "early" spring bloomers, many are actually late winter bloomers. The first one in full flower began earlier this month, C. korolowii "Kiss of Spring." In past years it bloomed in February, but it's an alpine crocus, & I think being buried under snow for four days actually hurried it up. Also this week in full fat bud are C. chrysanthus "Gypsy Girl" & C. ancyrensis "Golden Bunch."
These first ones are all bright yellows -- an odd coincidence that yellows arrive ahead of all the other colors, but perhaps no coincidence, as there is a Demeter legend of her finding yellow crocuses blooming and she stormed violently, "Who dares flower when I said none may do so until my daughter is restored to me!" The snakey yellow heads of crocus buds shook with fear of the Great Mother, & made the excuse for themselves: "But the Maid is coming now!" and up arose Persephone amidst the the circle of yellow crocuses. So she was kidnapped while collecting saffron from red-anthered purple autumn crocus, and returned with the yellow crocus as first heralds of spring. Then Demeter put on a cloak of white crocuses to greet her daughter, which must've been intended to inspire an image of the Mother as snow-covered mountain.
Sometimes the crocuses are so exciting I get heart palpitations; maybe I'll have a heart attack & keel over dead in drift of crocuses someday, a few decades later than now with any luck.
It's been very overcast all this month, though, so the buds get big & fat & ready to open, but stay closed & snake-headed, opening only on the sunniest days, then re-closing again on overcast days to follow. I've one true winter crocus called "Fontenayi" which blooms mid-winter (after the autumn crocuses & before the snow crocuses). Because of so many overcast days the blooms on that were almost never open. Not opening, they were not easily pollinated, & that meant they lasted longer than ever, even if as bud-like closed flowers. I saw that there is still one of those light lavender flowers remaining this morning, & there were many of them still looking like closed buds a week ago; I don't think they ever lasted into January before.
From now through April there'll be different sorts of crocus blooms bursting out all over. Very exciting.
-paghat the ratgirl