HELLO FALL

Early this spring large swaths of dense, shiny green foliage, similar to that of an amaryllis, sprouted up in one of the planting beds close to the house. The leaves slowly died back over the course of the summer, and by July, they had disappeared completely. In keeping with the rest of our property, the planting bed in question was massively overgrown, and sometime around mid-summer, we decided to weed and till the area. Once we started, however, it quickly became apparent that there were layers upon layers of large bulbs underneath the surface, planted only a few inches below the top of soil. Unsure what the bulbs were, a few areas were left untouched with the plan to wait to see if anything would come up this fall or next spring. Sure enough, last weekend, shoots of autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale) began to emerge from these very spots. And they are beautiful.