Monday, April 11, 2011

The Crocuses of Darlington

Call me old-fashioned, but I adore crocuses.  The older the variety the better, as far as I'm concerned.


I love it when crocuses are irregularly scattered about lawns, more so than when they are planted in rows or in beds.  It looks quite natural and, unexpectedly, just right.


It is such a pleasure when they peep their pretty heads up out of the grass, like so many chicks in a nest, their mouths open, waiting for sustenance.


I'm most partial to white and purple ones, which is—not surprisingly—all that we have at Darlington. 


Ours range from purple-throated white to the palest of lavenders to the darkest of ecclesiastical purples.


The crocuses were at their peak this weekend in our part of the Hudson River Valley.  What a joy it was.

All photographs by Boy Fenwick

16 comments:

  1. I always think of my dear Grandmother when I see crocuses in the spring. I love the way yours peek randomly through the grass.

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  2. These look wonderful! Sadly, I cheated and purchased some yesterday from Trader's Joes...in dark purple!

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  3. Beautiful!!! We don't see many in the South as bulbs don't survive our moderate winters to reflower as frequently as they do in cooler climates but I love them so.

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  4. And what a joy for the rest of us to look at! I'll bet you're like somebody else I knew, who enjoyed spending winter evenings looking through catalogs of bulbs and seeds.

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  5. We had a neighbour growing up who had a south-facing hill which was covered in crocii. gorgeous!

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  6. Very pretty. If you have lilacs in bloom, please post photos of them too. We don't really see crocuses and lilacs here in the Spring and I miss them.

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  7. Like Belle, I miss the spring flowers of the East and Midwest. "When lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed" and all that. Thanks for the lovely reminders of spring.

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  8. Oh, that deep blue purple of the crocus! My grandmother had them loosely planted alongside what she called snowbells. Thanks for the lovely reminder. Happy Spring!

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  9. Crocus' are one of my all time favourite flowers. They are so brave to be the first we see. I remember a first trip to Amsterdam many years ago in early spring, and the park in front of the Van Gogh Museum just a mass of these tiny flowers.

    Yours are so sweet.

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  10. Wonderful spring post! Reminds me of my mothers garden! Wonderful!!

    Northern Light

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  11. If and when I ever get my own blog off the ground, I will remember this, as I have the perennial problem of anyone with a large old house in the country, "Who Croaked Here?"

    Quite apart from all the money that's gone to archaeologists to locate the despoiled graves, or to fence them in, or to restore the monuments, there's the other problem of what to do about plants.

    My first thought was rare climbing roses, which would grow up and mantle (can I say that here?) the fence. Unfortunately, the deer put an end to that idea -- with curiously few apologies from the head gardener.

    Now, I think I'm going to steal a couple ideas from Paul Gervais -- though not a large pot in the middle of the cemetery to hold the bones -- and place an obelisk in the center.

    And I will fill the enclosed space with crocuses.

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  12. Thanks- we have the little star flowers out and mini Daff's. so far. Crocus do not fare well here with all the pounding feet (everywhere)
    So I'll admire yours and others!

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  13. Reggie Dear: Our crocus crop has already come and gone here on the Niagara Frontier. The poor lambs had to endure 3 separate snowfalls but they did so with their usual hardy pluck. Belle de Ville's comment above about lilacs prompts me to recommend a road trip to you & Boy. Rochester, NY, has an annual lilac festival of astonishing beauty, with more than 1200 varieties in a happy riot of colors and fragrances. This year's festival is on May 13-23. I commend the following URL if you are interested in learning more. http://www.lilacfestival.com/
    Your Spring-besotted Older Brother, Frecky

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  14. Not old fashioned at all! They're beautiful

    Have a great weekend xx

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