crocus time

[Henry Perry, 1935]

[Anna Zinkeisen, 1934]

[Henry Perry, 1931]

[David Wilson, 1926]

'Crocus Time' may have been a big deal in London parks in the 1920s and 1930s, but these days it's a much bigger deal in the north and the midlands where just now there is an explosion of colour (in the south it's all daffodils). I hadn't quite realised just how committed to crocuses the park and municipal gardeners are in the north; there are great carpets of gold, lilac, purple and white on roundabouts, next to roads, in parks, under trees, and on patches and banks of grass. They have made me decide to plant lots of sturdy, fat, brilliant Dutch crocuses next year - no messing with delicate little species crocus which don't give the same visual impact - to create my own crocus corner.

(The London Transport Museum has a fantastic exhibition of posters. I do wish they hadn't decided to charge £15 to get in saying it's a twelve-month ticket, when they know full well you won't be going back often, especially if you are a non-London visitor.)