And all the woods are alive with the murmur and sound of Spring,
And the rose-bud breaks into pink on the climbing briar,
And the crocus-bed is a quivering moon of fire
Girdled round with the belt of an amethyst ring.
~ from: Magdalen Walks by Oscar Wilde
A delightful and unexpected addition to my garden this month.
Earth laughs in flowers 
Such a deep purple. How nice to have these pop up unexpectedly in your garden. We visited a Tudor house near Manchester last September and came across a beautiful drift of crocus flowers growing under a huge oak tree. They were a much paler purple than these, but so pretty.
Ah, now they would be the autumn crocus or naked lady which are not true crocuses. Colchicum autumnale. They do look lovely though and would be a nice addition to autumn flowering.
That’s interesting. There were dozens of them and they made such a pretty display. It helped that we were sitting under an oak tree, in front of a Tudor mansion overlooking a stunning vista of hills and a lake with swans on it. So English!
Sounds idyllic!
A great quote to match a great surprise. Lovely photos and what a harbinger of spring.
I noticed the leaves when we moved in last year, but had no idea what they belonged to. So lovely to see them under the tree.
A colourful and joyous surprise, Jude. 🙂
Wishing you a wonderful Sunday. x
Thank you Dina, sadly we are back in the cloud today, but yesterday felt like an April day.
Oh lucky you! Lovely sight.
What a lovely surprise 🙂
Nothing like the sweet promise of blooming crocus in the spring….
Indeed, cheery little things.
Hi Jude !
What a riot of fascinating purple and beautifully captured ! I felt a shot of happiness seeing them.
Anjali
A quivering ring of fire! Have you got snowdrops too? Isn’t Spring wonderful? 🙂
No snowdrops. Groups of dancing dwarf daffs though and my hyacinths are in flower.
oh I just love the crocuses when they appear, such a burst of colour at a time of grey clouds and little sunshine.
These are truly an amethyst circle, planted under the Kilmarnock willow tree. I have only ever had them in pots before.
Wonderful…..I’ve got no idea how mine are behaving this year.
A beautiful addition and wonderful surprise for your garden…just gorgeous Jude! xxx
Thank you Sherri – I think this is most likely the last of the reveals of the garden. Though maybe March has a surprise in store.
I’m sure it does…such a lovely time of year, especially when the garden produces such lovely surprises 🙂 xx