Bees return to the Crocus Bank

– Posted in: What's up/blooming
20 comments

Backlit crocuses with beeAbout fifteen years ago I planted a bit more than 800 bulbs into the north-facing bank of our driveway. Um, no, not all in one day. Not all in the same year, actually. You can read more about it here.

It’s a madness I’ve never regretted, because the vision in my head that spurred me on is fulfilled every year, just when I think I can’t take another cold, dreary, muddy day.

I started planting crocus here in 1994.

I started planting crocus here in 1994.

Someone in the family took a video yesterday of the bees romping in the flowers, and I thought I’d take my first stab at posting videos online. It’s about a minute, roughly edited, and filled with the sights and sounds of early spring here in Purdyville.

See! The winter is past;
the rains snows are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves peeping of frogs
is heard in our land.
∼Freely adapted from Song of Solomon 2:11-12 (NIV)

About the Author

Kathy Purdy is a colchicum evangelist, converting unsuspecting gardeners into colchicophiles. She gardens in rural upstate NY, which used to be USDA Hardiness Zone 4 but is now Zone 5. Kathy’s been writing since 4th grade, gardening since high school, and blogging since 2002. Find her on Instagram as kopurdy.

What differentiates a bulb from a perennial plant is that the nourishment for the flower is stored within the bulb itself.…There is something miraculous about the way that a little grenade of dried up tissue can explode into a complete flower.

~Monty Don in The Complete Gardener pp. 142

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kate April 4, 2009, 9:04 pm

The video was well done. You did a good editing job and I should be thanking you for letting me hear the sounds of bees again and see the crocuses close up. I enjoyed the quiet voices … what a wonderful idea to plant so many bulbs.

kate’s last blog post..~ Doing things differently ~

Kathy Purdy April 4, 2009, 9:42 pm

I really didn’t do much editing. Just chopped off the end when it got blurry and added the titles.

Dawn April 4, 2009, 4:07 am

Beautiful crocus! You’ve given a Spring gift to everyone who sees them for years to come.

When we lived in Missouri my dh and I planted hundreds of bulbs at both the houses we renovated. My mother assures me that many of the bulbs still pop up each Spring. It’s almost like magic to my mind that they are still alive after all these years. I love bulbs!

Dawn’s last blog post..Mirror, Mirror on the…Floor

kerri April 3, 2009, 9:42 pm

Kathy, wasn’t yesterday beautiful? Unlike today. It’s pouring rain here and my bright cheery crocus, which yesterday glowed in the afternoon sun, were looking rather miserable this afternoon. The weather forecast is not very promising!
I loved your video and hearing the busy bee buzzing. Your band of crocuses is a lovely sign of spring.

kerri’s last blog post..Colorful Crocuses!

jane April 2, 2009, 7:11 pm

Absolutely beautiful! What a treat for those driving by.

jane’s last blog post..Free Gardening Courses

commonweeder April 2, 2009, 8:53 am

What a wonderful crocus bank. And I loved the video. We all have to do everything we can to encourage the and protect bees. I also loved the adapted lines from the Song of Solomon. A wonderful post.

commonweeder’s last blog post..Spring Blooming Shrubs

Kathy Purdy April 2, 2009, 12:05 pm

You know, a couple of years ago we had an almost bee-less spring, but it seems like every year since then their numbers have increased, so I’m hopeful.

Don April 1, 2009, 10:28 pm

How do all those crocuses fare with the deer and rabbits? The few times I’ve tried planting crocuses outside my fenced-in garden, they’ve been eaten in short order.

Kathy Purdy April 2, 2009, 12:04 pm

I see rabbit damage on other plants, but not the crocuses. We definitely have deer “in the neighborhood,” but we also have a lot of coyotes (aka coy-dogs) chasing them, not to mention Homo sapiens. We have seen deer damage on woody trees (notably fruit trees) further away from the house, but even that has been light. I suppose our deer population is not so large that they need to get up close to our noisy, erratic household to get enough to eat. Voles are a big problem for me in other areas of the garden. As a matter of fact, I’d say the only reason I can grow crocus here with any measure of success is that the soil is so compacted even rodents can’t be bothered.

Carol, May Dreams Gardens April 1, 2009, 8:19 pm

I was concerned for a minute that I might get stung by those bees. I love that bank of crocus blooms!

Carol, May Dreams Gardens’s last blog post..The Secrets of the Plant Stand

Cameron (Defining Your Home Garden) April 1, 2009, 7:55 pm

Love your crocus display!

Cameron

Cameron (Defining Your Home Garden)’s last blog post..No Fooling – It Is Spring

Kathy Purdy April 2, 2009, 12:06 pm

Thanks for stopping by, Cameron.

Nancy Bond April 1, 2009, 5:33 pm

Beautiful bank of crocuses! There is a similar corner property on the drive to my parents’ home that has, over the years, turned into a ‘crocus carpet’ each spring — it’s a landmark that many people search for when trying to gauge if Spring has *truly* arrived. πŸ™‚

Nancy Bond’s last blog post..Tulips Gone Wild

Kathy Purdy April 2, 2009, 12:06 pm

I’m thinking of expanding it a bit this fall.

Dee/reddirtramblings April 1, 2009, 11:55 am

Beautiful. Children’s voices. Bees humming. You’re a smart girl to have planted so many. Spring is here.~~Dee

Dee/reddirtramblings’s last blog post..Feel the Burn

Cindy, MCOK April 1, 2009, 10:20 am

Kathy, that’s so cool. I enjoyed watching the two bees romping in the same crocus. Happy Spring!

Cindy, MCOK’s last blog post..Through the Garden Gate: Monday, March 30th

Mr. McGregor's Daughter April 1, 2009, 10:15 am

Great video, it adds a whole other dimension to the scene to hear how loud those bees are. That’s absolutely delightful. Nothing says “spring” like a wide sweep of Crocuses. I bet people driving by slow down for a look.

Mr. McGregor’s Daughter’s last blog post..Deep Thoughts on Gardening

Kathy Purdy April 2, 2009, 12:09 pm

I hope they do. I’d love for the Crocus Bank to be “a landmark that many people search for when trying to gauge if Spring has *truly* arrived,” as Nancy Bond says in a comment below.