We bought our house from a keen gardener. Interior design didn’t interest her. Every room was painted a different shade of green, cupboards and wardrobes were painted around, without disturbing the furniture. 

The garden had been her pride and joy, until she was unable to manage it. So we inherited a bit of a jungle. We relocated in early January and the garden was not a high priority. Our interests were in replacing some of the many greens indoors. 

One of our first visitors wanted to inspect the garden and was charmed by the ‘variegated grasses’. We discovered, a few weeks later that these were not ornamental grasses, but crocuses. Thousands of them. The crocuses cover the entire garden across the beds and lawn. 

The blooms are of the wild variety - pale mauve, not the deep purple and golden yellow seen in the cultivated crocus. We do have, as I’m sure Jimmi Hendrix would have been delighted to see, a purple haze.

When the winter sun briefly appears they open up in a most glorious display. They are a true joy, carrying the promise of warmer days ahead. Unfortunately today is slightly dull, but you get the idea.

As those of you who love their gardens know, you must let flowered bulbs die back so that you will get a repeat performance next year. No Mow May is strictly enforced here.  The old crocus flowers and foliage look straggly and a little unsightly through April and May. Two months of shabbiness is a small price to pay for the display we have enjoyed and the hope it gave.

A much needed mow in the first week of June takes us into the next phase of the garden’s year.

The crocuses will dazzle us again next February.

Susannah

A Moodscope member