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The Last Flower Standing in 2022

13 Dec 2022 10:02 AM | Bill LeMaire (Administrator)

Following submitted by our knower-of-all-things-related-to-bulbs, Mike Smedley.

It's December 11, late afternoon, and the sun skims low in the southwestern skyline. Winter Solstice comes in 10 long nights. A storm is coming, the weather prognosticators say, with harsh blowing snow and bone-crushing single-digit temperatures as the coup de grace to the tawny, supposedly dormant garden.

But in the front yard, there is one remaining and defiant hold-out. It's a blooming crocus, the very last flower of the year.

I didn't know whether to celebrate its resolute audacity or mourn that it is, without a doubt, the very final flower of 2022. Maybe celebrate and mourn simultaneously. 

A brave lilac-blue Crocus speciosus (autumn-blooming crocus from the Caucasus Mountains) in December is a source of wonder. But I can only pause to appreciate and anticipate that in 10 weeks, this corm's golden cousin Crocus ancyrensis (so called Golden Bunch Crocus from Turkey) will brighten the late-winter world, maybe even poking up through lingering snow with the same insubordination.

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NOTE: Our physical location is 1900 E. Third Avenue, at the Durango Public Library. The gardens are located to the north and east of the library, along the Animas River Trail.

Mailing Address:

Durango Botanic Gardens

10 Town Plaza, #460

Durango, CO  81301

Phone: 970-880-4841
Email: durangobotanic@gmail.com

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Durango Botanic Gardens

Our Location:

The Durango Botanic Gardens are physically located at the Durango Public Library, to the north and east of the library.  The library is located at 1900 E. 3rd Ave., Durango.

There is no admission charge.  Stroll the gardens yourself (there is ample signage in most gardens) or call us at 970-880-4841 to arrange a group tour. See our Information Tab for more.

Contact Us:

DURANGO BOTANIC GARDENS     
10 Town Plaza, #460
Durango, CO  81301    

Phone:  970-880-4841
durangobotanic@gmail.com

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