Monday Moment - colchicum speciosum

I'm wishing everyone a happy Monday!

The weekend past was hectic - preparing for, and enjoying a fantastic family party for my granddaughter who is 2 years old today.

So...I'm taking a break from historical research posting and brightening up the page with a cheery little flower which brings a pretty lilac colour to my September garden. This little beauty is sometimes called autumn crocus but its proper name is colchicum speciosum.

My colchicum speciosum corms are very old. I inherited them in the garden when I moved in 25 years ago, so I have no idea how long ago they were planted, but they keep popping back up again, year after year.

In spring, the bulbs produce luscious large leaves which do a great job in providing ground cover when weed growing is fast and furious. Come September, there are these beautiful, delicate flowers which pop up on fairly long stalks.  Though the flowing period is fairly short, they really add some interesting colour to areas of the garden where the adjacent plantings have already produced their flowering additions and are in the dying back stages.

Set in amongst the showy and fleshy leaves of the bergenia the colchicums make a grand display.

Slainthe!