Guest Author - Hellie T.

Spring Crocus means joy and happiness.

In the early spring they bring colour and beauty to your English garden. They are very easy to grow and can be used in borders, containers and planted in lawns and around shrubs. The only thing to remember is that crocus like well-drained soil and a sunny spot – give them that and they will thrive.

You can create a natural look on a lawn by scattering handfuls of bulbs over the grass. Then you plant them just where they have landed. Massed planting looks wonderful too. Or why not plant a fairy ring of crocus and delight everyone.

How to grow

Plant your crocus bulbs from late September to November or about 5 weeks before you get a ground frost. This gives them time to get going before winter really sets in.

Plant the corms about 3in to 4in (6cm to 10cm deep) and the same distance apart - 3in for the small corms, 4in for the bigger ones.

They like well drained soil so add a handful of grit/gravel to aid drainage - -they will rot if planted in badly drained soil.

Don’t forget to water the corms in after you have planted them unless of course it starts to rain!

When they have finished flowering allow them to die back naturally – if you are lucky they will self seed.

Crocus in pots and containers do best if you give them a feed with a low-nitrogen, high potash liquid feed (tomato plant food is perfect!) once every 18 days.

You can get species that will flower in early spring and some that flower in mid to the end of spring – these are usually called the Dutch crocus. Both are perennials that will flower for you year after year – so grow some of each in your garden or have a couple of containers to brighten your day.

You can go for just one colour perhaps yellow but in an English Garden a good mixture of colours looks the best and you will often find that mixed bags of crocus are cheaper to buy than the same amount of single coloured ones.

Early flowering types - February to late March

C. tommasinianus often the first to flower and one of the best for naturalizing. Its colour ranges from the palest lilac to a deep rich purple. Ruby Giant is a great one to grow.

C. chrysanthus Snow Bunting has lovely creamy white petals dotted with pale blue-grey on the outside.

C. chrysanthus Blue Pearl has delicate pearly pale blue petals with orange middles.

C. chrysanthus Lady Killer is violet with white edges while inside is a very pale lilac.

C. chrysanthus 'E.A. Bowles has marvellous lemon yellow flowers streaked with purple.

C. chrysanthus Cream beauty the name says it all.

Dutch crocus C. vernus

These are much larger than the earlier flowering type and will flower in March and April and most are about 4- 6 inches tall.

Queen of the Blues has silvery purple flowers and orange middles
Jeanne d'Arc - has pure white and gorgeous

Pickwick - is white with deep and pale lilac stripes.
Enchantress - soft, pale blue flowers with a silvery shine to them.

Yellow Giant – looks good in containers and is a beautiful golden yellow.
Grand Maître - dark purple - blue

Enjoy your garden!