Purple....

Still grey...still very windy....but to brighten your day I bring a splash of purple from our garden. These are Crocus tommasinianus (Woodland crocus, Tomasini's crocus), named after the botanist Muzio G. Spirito de Tommasini (1794-1879), who was mayor of the city of Trieste.

In our garden they are the first crocus to flower, usually reaching their peak during half term week. Every year they surprise us - a week ago there was virtually no sign of them - but this morning there were hundreds in full bloom, a reult of the recent mild spell. I was worried that we had lost them from one area of the garden, and looked quite carefully yesterday to see if I could see any - to no avail. Today there are at least ten in bloom! How do they do that?

They were frequent in parts of the garden when we arrived, but with a little help from us they are now thoroughly naturalised in the grass. along with snowdrops, and the two make a wonderful sight at this time of year. Apparently this species grows wild in Bulgaria, Hungary and former Yugoslavia

They are the only thing I've photographed today. I've spent five hours painting all the woodwork in the hall. Now I remember why I haven't done it for fifteen years. The worst thing is I've got to do it all again!! My shoulder muscles are sore, my knees a bit stiff, and I'm just having a relaxing glass of red wine as a remedy (better than ibuprofen I find).

Hope you all had a good weekend!

PS Better viewed large!