April 5: Crocus, first flower of spring and source of saffron

This is the first entry in my second year of blogging about flowers. I'm doing this to educate myself about flowers, so I generally talk about the history and use of each flower. Last year it was so warm that I saw the first flower on March 15 but it has been much colder this year...I've been keeping my eye out for flowers and finally saw one. 
 
In no book about Michigan wildflowers will you see "crocus" listed. But it's just so exciting to see a flower bloom that I had to put it in! These flowers are on my property, but I haven't given them any care for years so I figure they've gone wild and started tending to themselves.

Crocus have been with mankind for thousands of years. Cultivation and harvesting of them was first documented in the Mediterranean, on the island of Crete, and the spice saffron comes from the dried stigmas of the crocus. 

 

A crocus, closed up because of chilly weather