Another early bloom is the joyful Crocus, which emerges even through a light snowfall.
5 Crocus facts
- The delicate looking Crocus can emerge through snow, enabled by a waxy cuticle to its leaves and flowers.
- The crocus has long been a symbol of youth, cheerfulness & glee.
- The flower is said to have been used by ancient Greeks to ward off the fumes of liquor by weaving the crocus flower into wreaths for the head
- Various versions of Greek myths tell of Crocus, a young mortal, but all the stories end with him being transformed into this cup shaped flower
- The spice Saffron is from the Crocus Sativus, (a different species to the ones in your garden!) & is the world’s most expensive spice. Saffron based pigments have been found in the prehistoric paints of 50,000-year-old cave art found in modern-day Iraq