Dear Elizabeth br Ginting,These are crocuses, another early plants that start growing in mid winter February. They have a biological alarm clock that wakes them up around this time of year, with flash of beautiful bright color flowers. Their colors vary enormously, but the most common are yellow, mauve, lilac and white. Crocuses are perennial, bulb type flowers called "corms", and belong to the family of irises. They are easy to grow, but require a well drain soil. In winter, squirrels and rodents when their foods are scarce, love to dig the corms from the ground to eat. So the crocuses are planted deeper to deter pests. Crocuses are not natives to the Netherlands, but it was first recorded there in 1560's about crocuses being cultivated. The beauty of crocuses inspired a well known Dutch painter Ambrosius Bosschaert to paint a crocus in 1620, and the original painting is displayed in Louvre Museum. Vancouver avid gardeners generally are having a break between November to January due to the cold winter, and the plants being in dormant state. But in early February gardeners can start enjoying the early blooms of tear drops and crocuses again. And spring time is just around the corner. Before tear drops and crocuses are done, there will be a lot of other flowering plants to start growing and showing their blooms. Everywhere looks alive again. New plants sprouting, replacing the dying olds.
