52 days left!
Less than 2 months ... And then it's finally that time again. Finally spring, and believe me, it may be here today because the autumn weather type that has been prevailing in the Netherlands for so long, I have really got tired of it now.
After every walk the wet clothes in the washing machine.
It is not at all motivating to wake up just about every day with a steady rain shower, strong gusts of wind around your house and with every walk with the dogs I now lay dry clothes ready so that when I come back I can immediately jump into the hot shower and the wet clothes back in the washing machine. Without a tumble dryer it is almost impossible to keep up ... but we do our best.
Crocuses announce the arrival of Spring.
Then it would be a feast if these little spring harbingers would again bloom happily in my garden. Unfortunately I don't see them yet, but that won't be long. These well-known crocuses always bloom around February / March. And with their flowering, they announce the arrival of spring every year.
Crocus Sativus L
Did you know that the well-known kitchen herb Saffron is made from the stamens of a Crocus? To be precise, you have to grow the autumn flower "Crocus Sativus L" in your garden.
Labor-intensive process.
If you now think, "Hey, that's nice! I want that too", it could be ... if you live in a country that has the right circumstances for this special Crocus to blossom. And if you succeed, then you have to be fast. This Crocus species blooms 8 days a year, and you have to harvest them in those days. And not just picking. The flower can best be harvested in its entirety just after they have opened. And because a Crocus only has 3 stamens, you need more than 150 flowers for 1 gram of Saffron. The very labor-intensive process to get from flower to Saffron also makes this herb so expensive and will remain so.
I just enjoy the spring flowers.
I don't start it myself, I don't have that Crocus in my garden, but I enjoy the spring-flowering Crocus that tells me that it will almost be spring. We have this white Crocus in our garden, just like the purple Crocus, and although these flowers are not suitable for making Saffron, the color is beautiful and let me enjoy it again as soon as they are open. If only it were Spring!
Only 52 more days to wait!
Unfortunately I will first have to walk with the dogs through the autumn weather which has a firm hold on the Netherlands.