Tommies

Crocus tommasinianus - normally a pale lilac purple but here displaying something of the great range of colour forms that can occur.  These are all seedlings from a form named 'Pictus' which is purple with silvery outers and dark tips to the petals.  The range of colours in the progeny attest to the way the Tommies interbreed with pollen from different forms producing varied offspring.  Each one a beauty.

Good news for those of you who enjoy gardening - this is one of the easiest species to grow and if you obtain a few different forms they will hybridise like this in your garden all by themselves :-)