Crocus
Snow crocus are always the first blooms in my yard, followed by waves of daffodils, narcissus, hyacinth, iris, and lilies. Years ago, I planted the snow crocus in the flower bed under our magnolia tree. Over the years, critters have transported the crocus bulbs across our front yard. Now each spring, as I seek out the first signs of spring renewal, I walk and watch carefully, alert to clusters of crocus in the dry yellow grass.
This spring I am noticing the hourly changes in Snow Crocus. Crocus open most fully when basking in direct sunlight on a warm day; they don’t open as fully on cooler days. Noticing these hourly changes has led me to visit the crocus multiple times each day.
One particularly warm day, I photographed the first cluster of purple crocus before our noon walk. One bud had bloomed while another had speared a dry leaf and was pushing its way through the leaf to the sunshine. After our walk, I spent over an hour photographing crocus. At the end of the session I looped back to the first purple crocus. The bud had doubled its height and was as tall as the surrounding spiked leaves. The following day it was in full bloom.
Much like the crocuses, I prefer full sun. As spring days brighten and lengthen, my mood brightens and my productivity increases. Ideas take shape after a winter hibernating or incubating in the swirl of my mind. Fabric piles shift and grow around the house as I formalize fabric selections. New inspiration pushes partial projects to completion. And when the creativity slows or needs more time to swirl....I head out to my yard to take more photos, to clear last year’s dry leaves and seed pods (read previous blog posts about Seed pods and Seed pods: Encore ), and to plant this year’s flowers, plants, and plans for new projects.
