Life in the secret garden

Though the calendar says it's still summer, autumn is in the air even on the sunny days. The fall flowers know it's their turn.

Colchium Speciosus, aka Autumn crocus, are pictured here. Every fall they provide small pools of refreshing lavender when everything else seems to be rust, bronze or gold. These small wonder bulbs naturalize readily and demand nothing from the gardener other than space,decent drainage, and some sun. The only drawback is their ungainly spring foliage, with this in mind, I plant them mid-border. Siting them behind late winter and spring beauties, which camouflage the species awkward stage.