When the first rains began in autumn, lilac-blue flowers thrust up through my lawn on bare stems, crocuses I had forgotten planting there two summers ago. They were not disoriented, mistaking autumn for spring. They were autumn-flowering crocuses untroubled by a covering of mown grass. They are Crocus speciosus, one of the easiest and most beautiful crocuses for gardens.
With crocuses in mind, I set off earlier this month for Macedon in northern Greece, homeland of my life-long subject of study, Alexander the Great. It is a fine time to explore the north-west of his kingdom, one which his father King Philip II amalgamated as far as lakes Prespa and Ohrid. The local forests of beech trees were colouring magnificently, but neither by the lakes nor beneath the trees were crocuses to be seen. With intrepid Charikleia Koromila, a frequent excavator for the Greek Archaeological Service, I descended from the mountains to a broad arable plain around Kastoria. Road signs warned that wild bears might cross the road, but none did. One sign struck another chord: “To Kozani”.