|
|
 he town got its name in the mid-fourteenth century because the place was packed with weavers who used the rich yellow saffron dye from Crocus sativus. It wasn't imported dye. Everyone thinks that saffron crocus can only be grown in the Mediterranean because it likes the baking heat and good drainage, and the sharp autumn drop in soil temperature, when yellow flowers appear. You can easily grow it in Britain. A well drained neutral soil in a south facing, sunny sheltered garden in best. It is a time consuming job; you need to pick the three red stigmas on each of the 150 flowers to make one gram of saffron. Dry the stigmas and store them in an airtight container.
 ou will generally find two types of crocus for sale at your local garden centre; one is spring flowering and the other is for autumn flowering varieties. The former are a boon, flaring up in the first damp grey days of spring. Many are beautifully viened and striped, like the exquisite Crocus corsicus, which is cream and purple, and many are two toned, such as 'Ladykiller', which has striking mauve blotches which pep up the white petals.
he best of the latest spring finds are the ting pale blue Crocus baytoporium from Turkey, which is usually a more expensive bulb, but definitely worth it, and the pinkish violet Crocus etruscus 'Rosalind'. The terrific Crocus chyrsanthus cultivars, now numbering about 35, are sold widely in good UK garden centres. There's 'Snowbunting' (pictured left) with a lovely smell of honey, 'Cream Beauty' (pictured left), the lemon yellow 'E.A. Bowles'; and they all peak in March.
 or a bigger bolder, reliable display you need the large Dutch hybrids. They grow five inches high, that's about two inches higher than the rest. Look for the early lilac 'Enchantress', 'Mammouth Yellow', violet 'Purpureus Grandiflorus', and 'Queen of the Blues'. They multiply well, doubling their numbers in about three years.
 f you want a crack at something different, there's Crocus sieberi sublimis 'Tricolor', banded white, yellow and lilac, and white Crocus versicolor 'Picturatus', striped purple inside against a white background. |
