Friday, April 11, 2008
Fat Dutch Crocuses, Indeed!
Henry Mitchell, in his best-known book The Essential Earthman has this to say about hybrid crocuses: "Let us have no more talk about 'fat Dutch crocuses'... as if the gardener loved only the slender, elegant wild crocuses... unfed, unbred, and untouched by the Dutch. The truth is that nothing is more sprightly to see than patches of fat Dutch crocuses in March, coming as they do to lift our spirits and amaze the young and simple."
Well, the Dutch hybrid crocuses in our garden never fail to lift my spirits and amaze me, and I'm not young, so...
Anyway, I probably wouldn't have planted "fat Dutch crocuses" in our garden at all (I HAVE gotten to be a little bit of a plant snob), but my sister-in-law was selling boxes of flower bulbs for her church, so I ended up with the Super Assortment of a hundred crocus bulbs, which arrived very late one fall when there was already snow on the ground. The bulbs were hurriedly stuck in the ground wherever it was not frozen, and promptly forgotten about. Well, every year now these amazing crocuses come up in larger and larger clumps all over the garden, their colors as clear and pure as in a garden dream.
Well, the Dutch hybrid crocuses in our garden never fail to lift my spirits and amaze me, and I'm not young, so...
Anyway, I probably wouldn't have planted "fat Dutch crocuses" in our garden at all (I HAVE gotten to be a little bit of a plant snob), but my sister-in-law was selling boxes of flower bulbs for her church, so I ended up with the Super Assortment of a hundred crocus bulbs, which arrived very late one fall when there was already snow on the ground. The bulbs were hurriedly stuck in the ground wherever it was not frozen, and promptly forgotten about. Well, every year now these amazing crocuses come up in larger and larger clumps all over the garden, their colors as clear and pure as in a garden dream.
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Tsk, tsk... we think we're somewhat of plant snobs too, but you can never have too many crocus is my motto. The more they multiply, the merrier! Our big fat Dutch crocus are all in the lavender-purple and pure white range, so it's cool to see some bright yellows like yours.
That was a favorite essay of mine when I lived where crocuses could be grown... now I just torture myself looking at gold and purple crocus on blogs like yours, Don!
Of course Henry also expected small children to swipe a flower or two for their mothers... they'd have to stroll pretty far to snitch yours wouldn't they.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
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Of course Henry also expected small children to swipe a flower or two for their mothers... they'd have to stroll pretty far to snitch yours wouldn't they.
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
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