Crocus chrysanthus Gipsy Girl

Crocus chrysanthus 'Gipsy Girl' flowers very early in the season, starting in February, brightening up the short winter days with its vibrant colour. Pure yellow on the inside, the corollas are striped with brown-purple on the outside, enhancing their ornamental appeal in the garden. This prolific bulbous plant naturalises easily to create stunning rockeries, borders, or spectacular flowering meadows. Its compact size is also perfect in containers or vases on a patio.

Crocus chrysanthus, also known as the Golden Crocus, is a member of the Iridaceae family, which includes more than 1700 species. Other well-known genera include iris, gladiolus, crocosmia, and freesia. Native to the Balkans and Asia Minor, and more broadly from Greece to Turkey, the botanical species is not widely cultivated, in favour of several horticultural varieties.

'Gipsy Girl' is one of them, which is particularly attractive with its unique livery. In February and March, the corollas open in the shape of a cup, with six tepals (petals and sepals of similar morphology). With a diameter of about 3cm (1in), the heart of the flower is a particularly bright yellow, precious for brightening up sometimes gloomy winter days. The uniqueness of this variety lies in the decoration that adorns the outside of the corolla: wide brown-purple stripes stand out against the yellow background, giving the flowering a slightly wild appearance. The flowers close at night and in bad weather, only to open wide in the sun, even in partial shade. The deciduous foliage consists of fine, simple linear leaves. It boasts a beautiful shiny dark green, highlighted by a white-silver midrib. This prolific horticultural hybrid eventually forms significant colonies of upright clumps, reaching a height of 10cm (4in). Although classified as bulbous plants, crocuses arise from corms. A corm is, in plant morphology, an underground storage organ that resembles a bulb but is formed by a swollen stem surrounded by scales. They easily divide to form significant colonies that naturalise in the garden. If planted in a lawn, where they will create a magnificent scene in late winter, the grass should be left uncut for 5 to 6 weeks after flowering to allow them to replenish their reserves.

Crocuses are irresistible as they mark the transition from winter to spring, bringing cheerfulness to the garden or even a simple patio. Their small size is ideal for containers. They are excellent in rockeries and will perfectly complement dwarf conifers such as Cryptomeria japonica 'Globosa Nana', a globular Japanese cedar, whose bronze foliage in winter turns the same dark green as the crocus in full season. Silver-grey foliage like that of Juniperus squamata 'Blue Carpet', a rightly popular ground cover, will also provide a suitable background to highlight the yellow flowers of the crocus. When used as a border plant, it can be paired with snowdrops, which are even earlier and attract all attention in winter with their charming little white flowers that defy the cold.