Sweet mystery of spring

By Arnetta Guion
The Portland Upside
March 2010

Photo by Arnetta Guion

Anatta Blackmarr delights in the thousands of crocus blooms that cover her yard each spring.

Every spring, Anatta Blackmarr and Edward Riddle live in a magic meadow of crocus blossoms.

They first discovered the woodland-style yard on occasional walks around the Southeast neighborhood of Oak Grove Heights, above the Willamette River. When the property, with its spacious oak-shaded yard, came on the market four years ago, they bought the cozy house and made plans to remodel. The big attraction for Anatta is the mass of crocuses blooming in the lawn.

“To see it for the first time, I was astonished,” says Blackmarr, formerly of the Bay Area in California.

Yet there is a bit of mystery. Anatta wonders how the crocuses came to be in the Portland area in the first place, and how they spread. Perhaps old-time gardeners shared the tiny bulbs, as gardeners will do. Or perhaps nature dispersed the seeds through birds or wind, once they were established.

“The bulbs are small, seem hardy and must have been planted when the house was built, probably in the 1950’s,” she conjectures.

After the winter temperatures warm and before the grass starts to grow, slender leaf blades come up. Then delicate pink crocus buds begin popping up everywhere. What happens next is an explosion of trumpet-like blooms in a veritable carpet over the entire area.

The magic meadow among the native oaks and mossy basalt boulders peaks by mid-February. Both Anatta and Edward delight in sharing the view with passers-by.

“People stop and often come back. I think it is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. Now the bees are humming in chorus with delight.”

What variety are they? Who might have planted them and when? Perhaps you have an answer to the sweet mystery of these spring crocuses!

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Arnetta has been a plant lover all her life, She advocates use of northwest native plants for low maintenance landscapes and gardens.