Brixton Flower Watch: Crocus

Welcome to Brixton Flower Club’s weekly flower spotting! Each month we will choose one road or area in Brixton, provide you with a weekly post on something beautiful that we spot and tell you a bit more about it. Thank you to all the local gardeners who work so hard to add some colour and nature to Brixton’s streets. 

Location: Trelawn Road
Week 2
Common Name: Crocus

Brixton Flower Watch crocus

You will have found it hard to miss all the crocuses flowering in Brockwell Park in the last week but they are also dotted across the whole of Brixton at the moment. This week I visited Trelawn Road and found the front gardens to be full of nice surprises! The most common colours for crocuses are purple, lilac, yellow and white and all varieties can be found on Trelawn Road if you investigate thoroughly.

Crocuses are always thought of as a sure sign of spring in the UK, but don’t get your hopes up! A waxy layer protects the plant from frost and so it is capable of blooming even in snowfall. To enjoy crocuses, plant the “corms” about 4 cm deep in a well drained sunny spot. After one successful flowering they need very little care.

The name most likely derives from the Sanskrit for “saffron” and this expensive spice is taken from the pistils of the crocus sativus flower. The filaments have to be dried and preserved before use because fresh saffron is completely tasteless. Saffron is widely regarded as the most valuable spice, but you are going to need a lot of land if you want to hedge your bets on a saffron fortune… Approximately 85,000 crocus flowers are required to produce just 1kg of saffron.

Visit Brockwell Park this week to catch the crocuses in their element!

 

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