A Brighter Tomorrow: The Crocus
When it seems like winter will never lose its icy-cold grip, the dainty crocus pushes up through the snow to put on a show of colorful revival! I love this poem I found today, a tribute to these little gems and to the spirit of the Crocus within us...
"Down in my solitude under the snow, Where nothing cheering can reach me; Here, without light to see how to grow, I’ll trust to nature to teach me.
I will not despair–nor be idle, nor frown, Locked in so gloomy a dwelling; My leaves shall run up, and my roots shall run down, While the bud in my bosom is swelling.
Soon as the frost will get out of my bed, From this cold dungeon to free me, I will peer up with my little bright head, And all will be joyful to see me.
Then from my heart will young petals diverge, As rays of the sun from their focus; I from the darkness of earth shall emerge, A happy and beautiful Crocus!
Many, perhaps, from so simple a flower, This little lesson may borrow, Patient today, through its gloomiest hour, We come out the brighter tomorrow."
~ H. F. Gould
Interesting Tidbits about this Flower:
The yellow spice, Saffron (considered to be the worlds most expensive spice), is derived from the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). The flower of Crocus sativa is a light purple, but it is the thread-like reddish colored stigma of the flower that is valued both as a spice and as a natural colorant. Saffron is hand harvested in the autumn, and the stigma is laboriously separated to yield the reddish colored spice. It takes in excess of 70,000 flowers to yield just one pound (0.45 kilo) of saffron spice. Saffron is also known as an anti-carcinogenic, antioxidant and boosts the immune system.
The odor of saffron is sometimes described as like the sea air. Its fragrance is used in perfumes and cosmetics. The flower was used by ancient Greeks to ward off the fumes of liquor by weaving the crocus flower into wreaths for the head. The Egyptians also used crocus flowers to dispel the fumes from intoxicating liquors by placing a spray of flowers on wine glasses. The ancient Romans were so fond of the fragrance of the crocus that they devised an apparatus to emit a fine spray of its scent on guests as they entered banquets.
The Legend of St Valentine
The crocus is dedicated to St Valentine, the Christian martyr, after whom St Valentine’s Day was named. Valentinus was a Roman physician who dispensed natural remedies, and a Christian priest who prayed for his patients. Practicing Christianity was a crime in the reign of Claudius II, so Valentinus was arrested, imprisoned, and sentenced to death. The jailor’s blind daughter was one of his patients and, just before his execution, Valentinus handed the jailor a note for the blind girl in which he had wrapped a saffron crocus, the source of the healing herb, saffron. As the girl opened the note her sight returned and the first flower she saw was the yellow crocus shining like the sun. The physician had written the message: “From your Valentine” and the day was February 14, 270 CE.
THE FIRST SPRING DAY by Soul Full Sanctuary Photography (Olbrich Botanical Gardens - Madison, WI)
"I wonder if the sap is stirring yet,
If wintry birds are dreaming of a mate,
If frozen snowdrops feel as yet the sun,
And crocus fires are kindling one by one."
~ Christina G. Rossetti
SOUL OF SPRING by Soul Full Sanctuary Photography
(Olbrich Botanical Gardens - Madison, WI)
""The soul of the Spring through its body of earth
Bursts in a bloom of fire,
And the crocuses come in a rainbow riot of mirth....
They flutter, they burn, they take wing, they aspire. . . ."
~ Donald Marquis
TO A CROCUS by Soul Full Sanctuary Photography
(Olbrich Botanical Gardens - Madison, WI)
"Welcome, wild harbinger of spring! To this small nook of earth; Feeling and fancy fondly cling Round thoughts which owe their birth To thee, and to the humble spot Where chance has fixed thy lowly lot."
~ Bernard Barton
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