In full flower in early February is the amazing Crocus tommasinianus, also knows as Tommy’s crocus, and among bulb collectors, simply as Tommy. It was named after the late Austrian botanist, Muzio Giuseppe Spirito de Tommasini (1794-1879).
Our clump below is over 30 years old, and is every bit as stunning as it was when it was young. Crocus tommasinianus hails from the Balkans region of Europe. Our plant is growing in rather dense shade, under the canopy of a Metasequoia, Abies concolor, and at the base of a giant Hydrangea macrophylla. In other words, it’s making this show in a rather difficult spot.
My problem is the squirrels are also big fans of The Who and love to snack on crocus bulbs while enjoying their rodent rock operas. I suspect the voles may also be like-minded Tommy enthusiasts. The squirrels like to dig up crocus bulbs and transplant them to new store holes, and soon forget where they stashed them, so they start popping up in random spots, alone in the wilderness, so to speak. Next year I’m laying down the law with my fury friends, and laying down chicken wire or hardware cloth barriers over each crocus patch. Hopefully this will slow the great crocus ‘diaspora’ that is spreading lonely crocus throughout my garden. I’ll also mix a good bit of PermaTill with the soil to make it a little harder on the voles; the party animals.