I have to admit that I am a newcomer to the world of crocuses, know very little about them, except that they are one of the first flowers to herald the Spring, and tend to get a bit confused about all the different types, so I thought a bit of research and consequently a feature post might be in order!
The first surprising fact, which I discovered in my research was that these tiny little bulbs belong to the Iris family Iridaceae (see photo above); there are 90 species (though recent chromosome tests have increased the number of species to almost 200) and only 30 species are in cultivation; there are many crocus species, which also bloom in Autumn and Winter; and crocus enthusiasts are known as ‘croconuts’!!! I suspect that after this wonderful season, I could well become one!
Their name derives from the Greek word ‘Krokos’, meaning ‘saffron’, referring to the long history of the cultivation of Crocus sativum over 2000 years for the production of the spice saffron for a yellow dye, food colourant, culinary spice and medicinal purposes. The large lilac Autumn flowers have darker veins on the petals, yellow stamens and three vivid red stigma, the source of the saffron.
It is the most expensive spice in the world, 1 Kg of saffron requiring the handpicking of over 85 000 flowers between dawn and 10am and costing $35 000 per Kg! Mind you, both those figures (number of flowers required and cost) vary widely, depending on which article you read! All I know is that in both cases, it’s a lot!!! I found an interesting link about saffron growing in Australia at: https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/man-with-the-golden-thumb-20080812-gdsq4i.html.
Crocuses (or Croci) are native to Central and Southern Europe; North Africa and the Middle East; the Aegean islands and Central Asia to China. They grow from corms and have narrow mid-green grass-like leaves with a central silver grey stripe and white, lavender, lilac, purple and yellow cup-shaped six-petalled flowers, which have a short stem, long tube, three stamens and one style and only open in the sun or bright light, remaining closed in rainy weather or at night.
The corms should be planted 3 to 4 cm deep in sandy well-drained soils in a sunny position. They look lovely in drifts or clumps and naturalise well in lawns, though the grass should not be cut for 6 weeks after flowering to ensure blooming the following year.
There are a number of different species, many of which can be seen on : https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Crocus. Another excellent link is: https://gardendrum.com/2014/02/27/crocus-for-autumn-winter-and-spring/.
The name of EA Bowles kept cropping up in my research into crocus, both in relation to his breeding of them and in the naming of new cultivars and if you would like to know more about his endeavours, especially in relation to crocuses, it is well worth reading: https://thedahliapapers.com/tag/crocus-e-a-bowles/.
The cultivated crocus species can be divided into two main groups according to their flowering season.
Spring
Crocus sieberi Cretan Crocus. Small flowers start blooming in late Winter as the snow melts. It naturalises easily. Cultivars include Bowles White; Firefly (lilac); Tricolor (white to pale lilac with dark lilac edge and gold centres); and Violet Queen. The species name ‘sieberi’ honours Franz Wilhelm Sieber (1789-1844), a natural history collector and traveller from Prague.
Crocus chrysanthus Snow Crocus. Native to Yugoslavia, Romania, Greece and Southern Turkey, it flowers in bare earth or the snow on stony or grassy slopes at 1000 to 2000 metres altitude in early Spring. It has smaller, but more profuse flowers than the Dutch crocus and unusual color blends, many hybrids having bicoloured petals and striking yellow centres. The species name ‘chrysanthus’ means ‘golden flowers’. Hybrid cultivars include Cream Beauty; Dorothy; EA Bowles; Goldilocks and Gipsy Girl.
Crocus tommasinianus Early Crocus. Blooms from late Winter to early Spring with pale lavender to red purple blooms with a silvery reverse. They flower profusely after the leaves have fully developed and spontaneously self-propagate, so are very good at naturalising in lawns. The species hails from the woods and shady hillsides of Southern Hungary, Yugoslavia and Northern Bulgaria is named after Muzio Giuseppe Spirito de Tommasini (1794-1879), an Italian botanist and expert on Dalmatian flora from Trieste. They can be distinguished from C. vernus by its combination of narrow leaves, purple flowers and white tube.
Crocus vernus Dutch Crocus. Very popular and well-known, these tough crocus have the largest flowers of all, so they are sometimes known as Giant Crocus. Originally from the mountains of Europe from the Pyrenees east to Poland and Russia and south to Sicily and Yugoslavia, they flower from early Spring. They will tolerate light shade, like under deciduous trees, in temperate areas. ‘Vernus’ means ‘of the Spring’. 
I have planted five varieties:
Jeanne d’Arc: Pure white (photo above);
Mammoth: Golden yellow;
Pickwick 1925: Striped white and purple (photo below);
Remembrance: Violet-purple; and
Grand Maître: Purple and blooms slightly later in Spring.
There are also yellow and bronze varieties.
My first attempt at growing Dutch crocuses in 2016 yielded a single purple flower, about which I was very excited as its appearance was a total surprise! I had planted ten corms (4 Mammoth and 6 Remembrance) the previous Autumn (mid-April) in the lawn under the deciduous trees, but had not been aware of the emergence of the leaves, when suddenly there was this bright purple flower in July!
I searched in vain for any further flowers that season, as well as the following year, so I was delighted when again a further bud snuck in under the radar, as well as a second grouping of crocus leaves. They are definitely reproducing. Imagine my horror to discover the new bloom nipped in the bud literally by a voracious Satin Bowerbird male and there were no more Remembrance blooms this season!
Luckily, at the end of April this year, I also planted 5 Jeanne d’Arc; 5 Pickwick; and 10 Grand Maître (photo below) corms in the cutting garden in well-noted spots. The foliage of most of them had surfaced by mid-August and they bloomed spectacularly in the first two weeks of September.
Two good places to source species crocus in Australia are Lambley’s Nursery at: https://lambley.com.au/garden-notes/winter-crocus and https://lambley.com.au/search/content/crocus(6 pages)
And Bryan H Tonkin : https://www.tonkinsbulbs.com.au/crocus.html, while Tesselaars has a good range of Snow Crocus (https://www.tesselaar.net.au/product/4010-snow-crocus-collection) and Dutch Crocus (https://www.tesselaar.net.au/naturalising-bulbs/dutch-crocus).
Autumn Crocus
There are still quite a large number of Crocus (at least 30 species and subspecies) which flower in Autumn, the most famous of which is Crocus sativum, the Saffron Crocus, the species name ‘sativum’ meaning ‘cultivated’.
Please note that there are two other genera, Colchicum and Zephyranthes, which are also called Autumn Crocus.
Colchicums
Colchicums, a distant relative of crocus and also a corm, can be differentiated from crocus by the number of styles and stamens. Colchicums have large strappy leaves without a stripe and pink, lilac or white six-petalled flowers (Colchicum luteum from Turkey is the only yellow one) with three styles and six stamens, compared to crocus flowers with their one style and three stamens.
Colchicum flowers also emerge from the soil before the leaves appear, thus their alternative name Naked Ladies, while in Spring-blooming crocus species, leaves shoot first or simultaneously with the flowers. Autumn flowering crocus bloom in full leaf. An exception is Crocus speciosus, whose flowers are produced before the leaves.
Most colchicum species bloom in Autumn (eg lilac-pink Meadow Saffron, Colchicum autumnale, and Colchicum speciosum with its lilac-pink flower with a white throat or its pure white cultivar Album), but a few emerge in Spring (Colchicum szovitsii; Colchicum falcifolium; Colchicum kesselringii; Colchicum hungaricum; and Colchicum luteum).
Members of the Liliaceae family with 45 species from Eastern Europe to North Africa and east to China, most of the colchicums found in Australia hail from Turkey and Greece. According to ancient writers, colchicums were particularly abundant around Colchis, the Black Sea region of Georgia, Caucasus, hence its name. Photographs of the different species can be found on: https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Colchicum.
They like similar conditions to crocus- well-drained soil in full sun or part shade and cool to cold climates with frosty Winters. They can also be bought from Bryan H Tonkin (https://www.tonkinsbulbs.com.au/colchicum.html) and Lambleys Nursery (https://lambley.com.au/search/content/colchicum).
All species and parts of the plant are toxic and the sap can irritate the skin and eyes, so take care handling them! Having said that, it is also the source of the cancer treatment drug colchicine, a mutagen which affects cell division and is also used by plant breeders to produce new cultivars.
Zephyranthus
Zephyranthes, a New World genus from the Amaryllidaceae (Hippeastrum) family, is also called Rain or Storm Lilies as summer and autumn showers trigger flowering.
The genus name derives from two Greek words: ‘zephyros’ meaning ‘west wind’ and ‘anthos’ meaning ‘flower’, since it is a native of the Western Hemisphere (the Americas) and includes 70 species, some of which can be seen in: https://gardendrum.com/2013/01/13/storm-lilies/.
They prefer cool frost-free and subtropical gardens. Having said that, we grow Zephyranthus candida in the shade of the Pepperina tree, where it retains its foliage all year round. In fact, we sourced our bulbs from my sister’s Tenterfield garden, where she gets heavy frosts and temperatures of ten degrees below zero!
Zephyranthes candida hails from Uruguay and Argentina. It has bright green glossy needle-like leaves and shining white crocus-like flowers with gold stamens.
Sternbergia
To further complicate the issue, the genus Sternbergia, is also called Autumn Crocus, as well as Autumn Daffodil, and there are eight species, distributed from Italy to Iran. The genus is named in honour of Count Kaspar M von Sternberg (1761-1838), an Austrian clergyman, botanist and palaeontologist and founder of the Bohemian National Museum in Prague.
Most bloom in Autumn, the fine narrow leaves emerging with or just after the flowers, though there are some species which bloom in Spring (Sternbergia fischeriana; Sternbergia colchiciflora; and Sternbergia candida). For more information about and photos of the different species, see: https://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/Sternbergia.
Sternbergia lutea is the most well-known one, its species ‘lutea’ name meaning ‘yellow’. It has a similar appearance to colchicums, except its bright canary-yellow flower colour. There is only one flower per bulb and they prefer frost-free gardens and a hot dry Summer.
I certainly know so much more about crocus now and am keen to experiment with a few other crocus varieties like Crocus sativus and some of the Snow Crocus cultivars in the cutting garden or rockery and perhaps to try naturalising the apparently foolproof and fecund Crocus tommasinianus in the lawn ! I would also love to try growing Sternbergia lutea in a pot in a frost-free position up by the house.
We were so impressed with this garden! It is so well planned and so interesting! We started out at the Visitor Centre, where I loved the paths inset with leaves (photo above), then crossed to the 4.5 ha Connections Garden, a fabulous showpiece with great colour (the pink Kangaroo Paw is Anigozanthos Bush Pearl)
and a fascinating journey through the evolution of Australia’s native flora from the Triassic conifers cycads and ferns 250 Million years ago…
and the drying out of the continent over the last 70 000 years. Here are some of the plants in bloom: Snow Wood, Pararchidendron pruinosum; Golden Wattle, Acacia pycnantha; Scribbly Gum, Eucalyptus haemastoma; and Hakea cristata;
the banksia collection (from the the tall Acorn or Orange Banksia, Banksia prionotes, to the prostrate Creeping Banksia, Banksia repens;
and the amazing stonework. The first photo is Banksia integrifolia Roller Coaster falling over a dry stone wall in the Grevillea section of the Banksia Garden, while I loved the patterns in the rough sandstone slab in the Connections Garden in the second photo. 
The pond and waterfall was a beautiful and refreshing centre piece,
as well as a great learning facility.
And we loved the colourful entrance garden, showing the unlimited potential of Australian native wildflowers, particularly in Winter!
The 360 degree view from the top of the hill was magnificent, if not a little distressing seeing the encroachment of Sydney and the main highway teaming with traffic! The first photo looks east over the Princes Highway to Campbelltown, while the second photo looks north over the garden to Narellan and then Penrith.
The Big Idea Garden had some wonderful suggestions to help reduce, reuse and recycle valuable resources into your garden from developing waterwise gardens (water tanks, drip irrigation and planting waterwise plants) to mulching and composting, correct pruning, turf care and fertilising. Some of the plants included Banksia spinulosa spinulosa Birthday Candles and Sturts Desert Pea, Swainsona formosa.
The Wattle Garden features many of the 950 species of Acacia, many just coming into bloom- such a variety in plant size; leaf shape and flower colour and shape!
Their peak flowering season however is in August! Here are some of the more unusual species: the prostrate Acacia saligna Springtime Cascade; Leafless Rock Wattle, Acacia aphylla; and Acacia cognata Fettuccine;
I love Banksias and other Proteaceae (including Grevilleas, Waratahs and Hakeas), so could easily spend more time in this area. Here are two photos from the Grevillea section: Grevillea pilosa and Diels Grevillea, Grevillea dielsiana; 
But alas, time was still limited and we had to make it up to our accommodation in the Blue Mountains before the school pickup traffic, so we look forward to future visits to explore all those areas we missed – the Callitris Grove; the Kurrajong Arboretum; the Western Garden; the Ironbark woodland; and the Eucalypt Arboreta, as well as the Australian Plant Bank (
In fact, we call in every time we visit the Blue Mountains and there is always something new to see and discover, like our beautiful native banksias, waratahs and Xanthorrhea or the giant Puya from the Chilean Andes in full bloom.
This time, it was the South African native flora: the Proteaceae family, as well as gerberas of warm and cool colour ranges, aloes, geraniums and gazanias, all of which were in full bloom and which totally captivated us! 
The cyclamen under the trees in the Pergola Garden were a visual treat!
There was even one of my favourite Sasanqua camellias, Star-above-Star Camellia, a fitting way to finish this double post of Winter Gardens!
It was established on the site of the old Matson Pleasure Grounds, a recreational complex, which was developed by Frederick Francis Matson in 1902 on the shores of Ewey (now Yowie) Bay and hosted many picnics, dances and boating events until its closure in World War One.
We parked on President Avenue and entered from the top of the gardens, but they can also be accessed via a lower gate and parking area off Kareena Rd. It was a wet day, but fortunately we were able to wander round the garden between showers, even enjoying some welcome Winter sunshine, before retreating to the tea house with the next downpour! The Devonshire tea and scones were an added bonus!
Outside the tea room is a fountain dedicated to Captain Cook’s wife Elizabeth (1742-1835), who is often in the shadows, so it was great to learn a little about her life. She certainly was a stayer! I was amazed to read that she really only spent 4 years of her married life of 17 years with Cook and that she outlasted him by 56 years, dying at the age of 93 on 13 May 1835. She also outlasted all her six children, including two of which died in infancy, with her last surviving son dying in 1794.
But back to the camellias! There are over 600 camellias in the garden with over 450 individual species and cultivars, which can also be seen in the digital catalogue on the Camellias Australia website, as well as in a register kept at Sutherland Library. See: 
If you love camellias and your appetite still needs satisfying, then a visit to the old home of the great man himself is essential!
The one-acre garden is a series of garden rooms, which contain a number of delightful architectural features including a temple, built from six recycled ionic columns, and flanked by two specimens of the camellia, La Pace Rubra, both planted back in 1914 ;
an outdoor study, the professor’s retreat from the hectic bedlam of four boisterous sons;
a walled fountain;
a Georgian-style pigeon house with a gilded tympanum;
a Moon Gate and tennis court;
an oriental Tea House with gold-tipped vermilion flagpoles for blue and red dragon flags;
a meditation garden with a sculptured rock pool and a Georgian-style timber screen.
There are also many beautiful large old camellias, as well as Japanese maples, azaleas and rhododendrons, datura and windflowers.
In between exploring the garden and the old house, we enjoyed a cuppa in the one of the two loggias, originally the boys’ bedrooms. Mrs Waterhouse was a strong believer in the health benefits of bracing cold fresh air!
Eryledene is listed on the National Estate and the NSW Heritage Register and it is worth reading the following website for more detail about the property: 
Next week, we will be visiting two wonderful inspiring native gardens, the Australian Botanic Garden at Mt Annan and the Blue Mountains Garden at Mt Tomah.
The final section at the back of the book includes notes on:
Embroidery With Wool uses crewel wool (DMC or Appleton), 18 decorative stitches and 20 embroidery designs with 20 variations to decorate hats, gloves and slippers; pyjama cases; drawstring and shopping bags; bed linen and throw rugs; curtains and tiebacks; shelf borders; cushion covers and lampshades; hot water bottle covers; table cloths and table runners; buttons; gardener’s aprons; and hat bands and shoe bags.
The section on Techniques and Stitches is identical to her previous book, with the addition of sections titled :
Heirloom Embroidery : Inspired Designer Projects With Beautiful Stitching Techniques by Jan Constantine 2008
Colourful Stitchery: 65 Hot Embroidery Projects to Personalize Your Home by Kristin Nicholas 2005
Stitch With Love: 11 Simple Stitches and Over 20 Easy-To-Throw Projects by Mandy Shaw 2011
I also really like the practical and logical presentation of this book, which starts with Fabrics, Buttons and Braids; and Needles and Threads; to Transferring the Motifs; Making the Projects; and Working the Stitches, with detailed diagrams of 10 basic embroidery stitches (Running Stitch and Whipped Running Stitch; Back Stitch; Stem Stitch; Chain Stitch; Lazy Daisy; Blanket Stitch; Herringbone Stitch; French Knots; Cross Stitch; and Satin Stitch) for both right-handers and left-handers.
Little Stitches: 100 + Sweet Embroidery Designs. 12 Projects by Aneela Hoey 2012
Embroidery Pour Le Jardinier: 100 French Designs For the Gardener by Sylvie Blondeau 2010/2013
Scandinavian Stitches: 21 Playful Projects with Seasonal Flair by Kajsa Wikman 2010
Techniques include quilting, appliqué and machine and hand embroidery. I love the quirky designs, especially the Gardening Angels, Fairy Angel Dolls and Tomte Stuffy and the Merry Mouse Zippered Pouch, which I made for my youngest daughter.
Her patterns are organised into different sections titled: Animals and Living Creatures; Daily Necessities; Trees; Appliqué and Embroidery; Piecing and Embroidery; Numbers From 0 to 9; The Alphabet; Borders and Repeatable Patterns; and Buildings and Trees. There are ant farms and fishing boats; honeybees and jives; Scandinavian flowers and vases; houses and churches; planes and bicycles; tennis racquets, shoes, bags and Nantucket baskets; trees and flowers; and geometric shapes and lines.
This book is also an ideal lead in to my final section:
I started making a Rupert Christmas stocking, though unfortunately, never finished it, though perhaps it is waiting for her child! It is also used for a patch, a pillowcase and a photo frame, while Peter Pan’s projects include a pyjama case and an album cover and Angelina, the ballerina, dances her way across ballet shoe bags, pictures, doorplates and cards.
The right-hand page has a colour plate of the design with a black-and-white cross-stitch chart on the left-hand page.
Cross-Stitch Patterns in Color by Gerda Bengtsson 1974
but was particularly drawn to patterns by The Prairie Schooler (
Book No. 61 Garden Alphabet Yet to Do;
And finally, for those of you who would like to design your own cross-stitch, there is this last book:
And finally, do not forget that wonderful tool, the computer, for converting your favourite photos and images to cross-stitch patterns. There are numerous sites, including: 
Ethnic Embroidery: An Introduction With Special Reference to the Embroidery of China, India, Palestine and Yugoslavia by Margaret Ohms 1989
Embroidery From Palestine by Shelagh Weir 2006
Embroidery of the Greek Islands and Epirus Region: Harpies, Mermaids and Tulips by Sumru Belger Krody 2006
Bright Flowers: Textiles and Ceramics of Central Asia by Christine Sumner and Guy Petherbridge 2004
Again, the appendices include:
The use of these stitches and their differing visual effects, according to application and the use of different threads, is then illustrated in portraying lines; different textures (including the depiction of feathers and resin); the filling of shapes and a variety of subject matter from leaves and foliage; stems, trunks and branches; flowers, trees, sky and clouds, water and architecture. The photo below shows a variety of effects using the same stitch (seed or running stitch), but with different thread combinations and colours.
Stitch combinations and patterns are also discussed in detail, along with hints about getting it all together in a finished design. The photo below also shows the variations in the same pattern, which can be produced with the application of different combinations of thread colour. 
An excellent book for beginner embroiderers.
Readers’ Digest Complete Guide to Embroidery Stitches: Photographs, Diagrams and Instructions For Over 260 Stitches by Jennifer Campbell and Ann-Marie Bakewell 2006
All stitches are well explained with annotated diagrams and coloured photographs. An excellent dictionary of embroidery stitches for both the beginner and more advanced embroiderer. It is so much fun playing with all the different stitches and colours!
Stitch marks follow with notes on needle and thread selection, hand-stitched marks (running stitch, including radiant and spiral stitch patterns; loop stitch; knots and ties including reef knots and French knots); machine-stitched marks (free-machined marks,single marks, massed stitch marks, all-over stitch marks, continuous lines, dots webs and tufts, layered stitch marks, and working with single or mixed and contrasting colours). My creativity really went wild with my next piece of experimentation!
The final chapters cover sources of inspiration, using a sketchbook, choosing a focus, materials and equipment, threads and fabrics, sampling, building a reference collection, and finishing work; strategies for living a creative life, including time and work spaces, health and safety, motivation and breaks, membership of groups and resolving creator’s block; and lists of resources ( materials and equipment), suppliers, organisations and inspiring places to visit in the United Kingdom. 
Embroidered Purses: Design and Techniques by Linda Tudor 2004
Her first book Embroidered Garden Flowers 1991
A large section of her books is devoted to a Flower Glossary, detailing threads, number of strands and stitches and method, with explanatory diagrams on each page. Not only plants are featured. There are also embroidery instructions for gardener’s friends (pussy cat, butterfly, spider and web) and pests (snail), as well as built features in the garden like flagstones, pergolas and terracotta pots.
As can be expected, I own many wonderful books on the subject, which I have divided into four groups (and hence posts) from basic embroidery (this post) to more specialised how-to guides and stitch dictionaries (next week); beautiful volumes showcasing the work of other talented embroiderers, as well as those from the past and different cultures (third post on embroidery books); and a plethora of pattern books and designs (last post). Here is another simple example of drawing with thread:
Please note that while some of these books may briefly mention machine embroidery, it is not really my thing, so there are very few books on this subject in this post.
There is also a good introduction with information on needles; sewing machines; embroidery frames; tools; fabrics; threads; embellishments; basic techniques; working from charts and diagrams; making up; sources of inspiration; developing design ideas; exploring colour palettes; and painting fabrics. Below is a photo of more tools of the trade: Pins and needles, scissors, ruler and embroidery hoops of varying sizes.
Each section on the different techniques includes its history, characteristics and different forms; stitches and techniques, including sources of inspiration and helpful hints; and projects based on the specific technique. This is an excellent book for beginners, as well as showing the wide diversity of embroidery styles and applications.
Anchor Complete Embroidery Course by Christine Marsh 1998
Beginning with Just Five Stitches (backstitch, French knot, lazy-daisy stitch, satin stitch and blanket stitch), it progresses from chapters on stems and outlines, knots and dots, and chains and loops through to solid and open fillings, borders and bands; and mix and match (combining techniques, adapting designs and changing materials and colour schemes). This sampler shows the use of chain and running stitch.
She has notes on colour schemes and design, designing with cut paper, appliqué and shadow work, needle weaving, quilting and smocking, and finishing (hems, edges, cords, tassels, fringes, handles, fastenings).
Jan Messent (1936-)
For more about the book, see: 