The very first bulb to bloom in my garden this year is this winter-flowering species from Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey; Crocus vitellinus. The particular plants shown were purchased as bulbs from Paige Woodward's Pacific Rim Nursery and planted out last fall. Just 2 days after 24" (60 cm) of hardened snow and ice receded on the warm south side my house, this tiny species popped into bloom. A series of 5 photos were taken today and posted to the PBS wiki Crocus page. The golden flowers have a pleasant sweet scent, and are brushed and speckled with brown on the exterior base of the tepals. Looking down on the flowers, they have a triangular countenance. The large glossy green leaves seen near the crocus bunch is Sternbergia lutea, which amazingly keeps its beautiful leaves even with an iceberg sitting on them all winter. Go to the crocus page at: http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/… The best of the 5 photos http://pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/files/… Mark McDonough Pepperell, Massachusetts, United States antennaria@aol.com "New England" USDA Zone 5 ============================================== >> web site under construction - http://www.plantbuzz.com/ << alliums, bulbs, penstemons, hardy hibiscus, western american alpines, iris, plants of all types!
