Crocus, Color, and Catalogues

These are the Crocus tommasinianus I posted about the other day. More have come up since then, and they look better in numbers. They are very delicate, with short leaves.

The purple is more blue than red, and certainly not as pale as those in the photo at Scheepers. But, I see now that the catalog description says "pale lilac to deep reddish-purple." As an artist, I can fully attest to the different ways people will describe the same colors. If a photo is only one variation of a set of possible colors, and those other colors are described with words (or photoshop!), then one cannot be too particular, knowing the range of possible colors those descriptions could suggest. Letting it go now.

This is the C. tomassinianus 'Lilac Beauty'. I think the photo in the catalog better describes these, although they were photographed on a cloudy day or in the shade and not color-corrected, or possibly blue tinted in image processing for effect. I can forgive this because I can easily see through it, to the flower I have, simply with a blue cast in the whites and over the orange in their photo.

I bought 25 corms, but only a few of these have come up. So that may be the bigger disappointment with these. I will be moving them, anyhow, to a new location as we begin to redesign this area due to the demise of the yew tree that was here just a month ago. That's what I am really excited about - a new opportunity brought on by a heavy snowfall. No more vegetables, that was already decided. Just herbs, flowering plants, and a small patio.