in the pink of autumn
Pink is to autumn like coarse sea salt is to an artisanal chocolate caramel – a stroke of brilliance on an already good thing. Maybe that’s why I love my autumn blooming colchicum and cyclamen. Their fresh, vivid almost bawdy pink just glows among all the olive, amber, orange and brown in the garden – my favorite time of the year in the garden.
Ruby orach
There’s a moment when the Ruby Orach, now nearly 7 feet tall and loaded with seed heads turns a radiant magenta…before shattering and wantonly casting its seed in every nook and cranny, gravel pathway and paving crevice.
Colchicums are not without their weaknesses as well. Every spring their paddle shaped leaves start to go dormant just when all the plantings around them are pristine and fresh, spoiling a perfectly good picture and attracting slugs from near and far who love to feast on the fading fleshy foliage – ack! These fall blooming bulbs, technically corms, reproduce at an alarming rate – frightening in the spring with all the mushy leaves; glorious in the fall with their glowing crocus-like blossoms.
Commonly called fall crocuses, colchicum are actually relatives in the lily family and not a crocus at all. Hardy in zones 4-8, plant them in well-drained soil. The plants are summer dormant and appreciate a good baking in the sun. I have them situated along pathways among groundcovers and low perennials. Sure I curse them each June as I clear away the disgusting mess (have you gathered that I’m not a big fan of the leaves?) but every year at this time I forgive all as their glowing, luminous pink goblets light the walk.
When the plants have multiplied to the point where they are heaving themselves out of the ground, in June I dig the whole clump, reset a few good sized corms, pass a few around to friends (who I’m sure wonder why I’m sharing something I curse) and put a few away in the garage where hopefully I’ll remember to bring them out in early September for forcing indoors.
We’ve all gotten salt in a wound and felt the annoying sting. But those of you who have tasted delectable salted caramels know, salt can also take the sweet to the sublime. And so it is with pink in the autumn.
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I have very little pink in my yard, eggplant blossoms, a few wildflowers, and some spikey things that I do not know the name of. These are just breathtaking and arranged so professionally. Only looking at them brings out my inner southern belle.
I know…anyone can do pink in the spring. But it doesn’t glow the way they do in the fall. Cheers!
“Pink is to autumn like coarse sea salt is to an artisanal chocolate caramel – a stroke of brilliance on an already good thing.”
Money Quote!!!
I can never bring myself to leave some out for forcing, as you do. I always give my extras away, and there are always extras when I did a clump up. Why are they so expensive? Are daffodils and crocus that much more prolific?
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