I’ve been holding my breath since mid-September, waiting for signs of life from the saffron corms I planted at this time last year. Honestly it’s been a bit of an obsession, though I have refrained from checking every hour. Just once a day has been enough, and yesterday I was finally rewarded when I found [...]

As the weather heats up, the saffron crocuses have slipped into dormancy. The foliage died off, only this one plant has leaves remaining, and for the next few months I will just have to wonder if they will come back in late September bearing the precious saffron. Our indoor crocuses slipped into dormancy early, and [...]

I started my saffron experiment last fall, and as with all experiments I wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I’m happy to report that the outdoor saffron (photo above) appears to have survived the winter, though a rabbit or a whole colony seems to have discovered their tasty leaves. One plant has been chewed [...]

We had our first snowfall of the season in Northern Virginia last week, a cause for celebration since we hadn’t gotten much snow during our time in Hampton Roads. The boys pressed their faces to the windows and watched the flakes gently falling, turning the ground and trees white. We felt so cold and wore [...]

As I mentioned last month, I’m attempting to grow saffron crocuses (Crocus sativus) so that I can have my own supply of saffron. I ordered bulbs and they arrived within a week, but I was unable to get them into the ground for another week. By then I was worried that too much time had [...]

I do not write a gardening blog and I am no expert gardener. Although I don’t have a completely black thumb, I did in fact set a new record this year for the shortest time I ever kept a rosemary plant alive. The poor thing started dropping leaves within two days after I got it [...]