Yellow Fall Crocus – Bit of Spring in September

I may joke about the floral surprises I keep finding out here on the farm, but today’s bright yellow flowers were especially exciting!

As you can maybe see in the photo to the left, the pear tree is loaded with ripening fruit. (Whether they’ll ripen or not is another story since I’m not watering the trees this summer.)

Under the trees in a pretty little circle are bunches of small yellow flowers that look just like those harbingers of spring, yellow crocuses. I’ve never heard of fall-blooming crocuses, though.

Well, fall-blooming crocuses do exist. Sternbergia lutea appears in September and can last through October.

I’m equally surprised the bulbs have survived. With the lack of water this fall, squirrels (or something) has dug up a lot of the bulbs, perhaps looking for water.

I only have this one patch, but now that I know about these beautiful little flowers, I may add more around some of the other fruit trees. At this time of year, the colors are fading in the leaves, so it’s nice to have another bit of beauty before spring.

*** This site is comprised solely of the opinions of its author, Stacey Morgan Smith. She works to promote gardening and tourism in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, from Roanoke to the Potomac River.***