Seeds of Peace

Colchicum troodi, a form raised from seed collected on Mt Meron in Northern Israel.   A friend, sent me the seed in 2009.  Since then he has set up a project with a fellow enthusiast to conserve the plant heritage of his region.  You can read here about 'Seeds of Peace.'  

Colchicum differ from crocus in several ways.  Colchicum have six pollen bearing anthers - crocus have three.  Crocus leaves are narrow and usually with a white stripe - colchicum mostly have much broader green leaves.  The corms are so different it is impossible to mistake crocus for colchicum.  Colchicum seeds can take several years to germinate which added to the years it takes for the seedlings to mature means it's a long haul but when they flower like this - it's worth the wait :-)

Another super sunshiny day.  Another large batch of blippable pics - see extras.  I was planting seeds today in between cooking and cleaning up .... oh, and fighting with the washing machine again :-(  It won today, I ended up hand wringing and drip-drying an assorted load.  Later we baked an apple pie and took it over to share with Jamie's grandparents - they are confined to base at present.