On 05/02/2015 16:00, David Hill wrote:
On 05/02/2015 14:22, Spider wrote:
On 04/02/2015 20:15, David Hill wrote:
On 04/02/2015 16:10, Roger Tonkin wrote:
In article , david@abacus-
nurseries.co.uk says...


Here the crocus started to come out New year, and there must
be around
20 now in flower.
I have found the first snowdrop in a pot showing a flower but those in
open ground, not a sign.
The first daffs are still going strong after a month, the flowers are
lasting well, the 2nd variety is now a few days from opening.
David @ the sunny side of Swansea Bay

Strange, here 40 miles inland and 700ft higher snowdrops have
been out for a week or so now. Admittedly the are mostly under
shrubs/hedges, but some are in open ground.

Very few signs of the crocus crop though, but in the churchyard
up the road there is a mass of those pale blue crocuses that
come up without leaves. I'd love to get some of those, but
would feel a little concerned about digging up anything in a
graveyard.


I think what you have there are Colchicum, a lot of different varieties.
As for digging in the graveyard, I doubt you would disturb the
inhabitants, they should be deeper than any bulbs would be.



I would have thought they'd be more likely to be Crocus speciosus,
David. I'm not aware of a pale blue colchicum.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...sus_clump3.jpg

If C. speciosus is, indeed, what Roger admires, they're not that hard to
obtain. They usually appear in the late summer/autumn catalogues.


I suppose it depends on where Lilac finishes for you and Blue begins.



I've never thought of Lilac as being blue, to be honest, although there
is *some* blue in it. I imagine you're thinking of Colchicum 'Lilac
Wonder'? It is undoubtedly pretty, if not truly blue. Hopefully, Roger
will come up and comment. Maybe he's done to the graveyard to take a
picture.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay

On 05/02/15 17:05, Spider wrote:

I suppose it depends on where Lilac finishes for you and Blue begins.

I've never thought of Lilac as being blue, to be honest, although there
is *some* blue in it.

It never ceases to amaze me how many plant/bulb/seed sellers
misleadingly describe purple/lilac/lavender flowers as "blue" - often
photoshopping images to increase the blue hue. Plant families which are
capable of producing true blue colours are very much in the minority
when compared to those that can't. Even with families capable of having
flowers of all colours, species which have blue flowers are few and far
between.

--

Jeff

On 05/02/2015 18:56, Jeff Layman wrote:
On 05/02/15 17:05, Spider wrote:

I suppose it depends on where Lilac finishes for you and Blue begins.

I've never thought of Lilac as being blue, to be honest, although there
is *some* blue in it.

It never ceases to amaze me how many plant/bulb/seed sellers
misleadingly describe purple/lilac/lavender flowers as "blue" - often
photoshopping images to increase the blue hue. Plant families which are
capable of producing true blue colours are very much in the minority
when compared to those that can't. Even with families capable of having
flowers of all colours, species which have blue flowers are few and far
between.



Well, quite. I understand perfectly that in very general garden-speak,
flower colours are often lumped together as "the reds" (anything from
pink, through scarlet to burgundy) and "the blues" (anything from murky
grey, through blue to purple), but when describing an individual bloom,
most of us - whether gardeners or not - try to describe the colour as
accurately as possible.

I love blue flowers and plant as many as I can that suit my garden and
my budget.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay