The Autumn Crocus ...

“Child of the pensive autumn woods!

So lovely, though thou dwell obscure and lone …

Where shall I ever find

So rare a grace? In what shy solitudes? …”

            ~ “The Autumn Crocus”

              ~ Robert Laurence Binyon

             ~ English poet, dramatist & art scholar

                 ~ 1869 ~ 1943

Afternoon sunlight softly dances around an Autumn Crocus that emerges as a beacon of hope amidst the fading colors of fall on a beautiful early September day on the cusp of autumn at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Colchicum autumnale, commonly known as autumn crocus, meadow saffron, naked boys or naked ladies, is a toxic autumn-blooming flowering plant that resembles the true crocuses, but is a member of the plant family Colchicaceae, unlike the true crocuses, which belong to the Iris family. It is called “naked boys/ladies” because the flowers emerge from the ground long before the leaves appear. Despite the vernacular name of “meadow saffron,” this plant is not the source of saffron, which is obtained from the saffron crocus, Crocus savitus ~ and that plant, too, is sometimes called “autumn crocus.”

 

The Awakening Spring ...

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.”

     ~ John Muir

     ~ 1838 ~ 1914

What a joyful sight to see these purple and white early spring crocuses ~ also known as snow crocuses ~ bloom on St. Patrick’s Day afternoon ~ March 17, 2023 ~ as the seasons edge closer to spring in the waning days of winter at Trexler Memorial Park, Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Because of their very early bloom time, these blooming crocuses are often considered the first sign of spring, a cheery welcome to warmer weather!

Growing from bulb-like structures called corms, crocuses are low-growing perennial plants from the Iris family. They can often be seen peeking up through the snow well before any other flowers appear on the landscape.

 

Among the very first flowers to bloom each spring, crocuses come in Easter-egg colors of purple, yellow, lavender, cream and white.

 

Early Spring Crocus ...

“Spring work is going on with joyful enthusiasm.”

     ~ John Muir

     ~1838-1914

What a joyful sight to see these early bloomers enthusiastically reach toward the rays of the evening sun on the second day of spring ~ March 21, 2021 ~ spring has finally sprung after a long winter! 

These lavender Early Spring Crocuses were showing off their simple beauty in the early evening along the Ironton Rail Trail, which loops more than nine miles through Whitehall Township, the Borough of Coplay and North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania.

Because of their very early bloom time, these blooming crocuses are often considered the first sign of spring, a cheery welcome to warmer weather!

Growing from bulb-like structures called corms, crocuses are low-growing perennial plants from the Iris family. They can often be seen peeking up through the snow well before any other flowers appear on the landscape. Bloom colors on the tube-shaped flowers include mauve, lavender, and yellow.

The Ironton Railroad was a shortline railroad in Lehigh County. Originally built in 1861 to haul iron ore and limestone to blast furnaces along the Lehigh River, traffic later shifted to carrying Portland Cement when local iron mining declined in the early 20^th century. Much of the railroad had already been abandoned when it became part of Conrail in 1976, and the last of its trackage was removed in 1984.

 

In 1996, Whitehall Township purchased 9.2 miles of the right-of-way from Conrail, transforming it into the Ironton Rail Trail.