Crocus Sativus

Yes, you can grow the world’s most expensive spice in your own garden! *Crocus sativus* is an unusual and valuable autumn bloomer, best known as the source of the precious saffron. It flowers around October with delicate, lavender-purple blooms, often marked with darker violet veins and three striking, fiery red stigmas that elegantly extend from the centre. The flowers are silky and fragile, with an almost translucent sheen that catches the low autumn light.

Its growth is low and graceful, around 10 cm tall, and the leaves typically emerge after the flowers. *Crocus sativus* brings an exotic touch to the garden, both in appearance and heritage, and its late-season bloom adds a quiet beauty to the fading light of the year.