It is observed by Dr. Forster in the “Perennial Calendar,” that about
this season the purple spring crocus, _crocus vernus_, now blows, and is
the latest of our crocuses. “It continues through March like the rest of
the genus, and it varies with purple, with whitish, and with light blue
flowers. The flowers appear before the leaves are grown to their full
length. The vernal and autumnal crocus have such an affinity, that the
best botanists only make them varieties of the same genus. Yet the
vernal crocus expands its flowers by the beginning of March at farthest,
often in very rigorous weather, and cannot be retarded but by some
violence offered; while the autumnal crocus, or saffron, alike defies
the influence of the spring and summer, and will not blow till most
plants begin to fade and run to seed.
_On the Seasons of Flowering, by White._
Say, what impels, amid surrounding snow,
Congealed, the Crocus’ flamy bud to glow?
Say, what retards, amid the Summer’s blaze,
The autumnal bulb, till pale, declining days?
The God of Seasons, whose pervading power
Controls the sun, or sheds the fleecy shower:
He bids each flower his quickening word obey;
Or to each lingering bloom enjoins delay.
We may now begin to expect a succession of spring flowers; something new
will be opening every day through the rest of the season.”