Sleeping Crocuses

I ran out the door, glancing briefly at the little crocuses peeking out from under the mess of stems left over from last summer’s garden. Their silken purple tepals were open to the April sun like tiny fairy chalices, the miracle of spring spangled across the wet, brown leaf litter.  “Pick a few,” I said to myself, but I was late for an appointment.

Why does the warm weather always arrive before I’ve raked? Why don’t I cut the garden down in autumn?  Why bother asking those questions when it’s the same old thing, year after year.  When I returned home, the clouds had emerged and the crocuses had closed against the dropping temperature and impending rain.  But shy crocuses in little vases today are better than mud-splattered crocuses in the garden tomorrow.  So spring came indoors for the night.

'Purple Remembrance' and 'Pickwick' Dutch crocuses in bud vases.

‘Purple Remembrance’ and ‘Pickwick’ Dutch crocuses in bud vases.