Janis' Crocus Adventures in November 2017

[David Nicholson]

hummm lots of check boxes on the list, you can suggest a week to the italian riviera...after one week isolated in the rocks of Peloponese.
I hope you saved enough money 

Biggest problem: no fights from Exeter to mainland Greece nor to Italy. There would be from Bristol perhaps but that is 120 miles from us. We have vowed that in future if we can't fly from Exeter then we won't bother going.... it's an age thing

[Janis Ruksans]

Today the last two entries with pictures about our last autumn late trip to Pelloponesse. It is the last full day in Greece. Tomorrow we have tickets for fly back to home. Hotel "Flower of Monemvasia"provided us with luxurious and very rich breakfast and wee start our way back to Athens. For not repeat the roads used formerly we select new road. At Sifkia we turn right to Gaidarovouni mountains. The road at first goes through flatlands covered with olive orchards. And after few kilometers we stop between fields with Crocus goulimyi. I many times observed Crocus goulimyi in wild before, but never saw it in such abundance. I always was something jealous to those travellers who published pictures were this crocus actually covers the ground. In spots seen by me there were crocus flowers, but they were sparsely located. Here they really covers ground but last nights showers not allow to make good pictures, flowers regardless of sun still are very wet and closed.
Further our road goes up into mountains and there again into spiny shrubs are sparsely located C. niveus flowers. All types of colour - white and bluish. Not very abundant and not easy to walk up and between thorn bushes, but some pictures were maid. Further by road we again met only C. boryi - it was growing at any more or less open spot.

[Janis Ruksans]

I already lost hopes to see some other crocus species when after Peleta something different in flower shape I noted through car windows. It was Crocus melantherus - autumn blooming species from so named "biflorus" group with mostly black anthers, although occasionally (in some populations quite many) can be with yellow anthers. Identification is very easy - there are no other species with annulate tunics on Pelloponesse. Even here it is interspersed with white anthered C. boryi. Of course we are stopping for pictures.
Further by road again is only Crocus boryi - in some places very abundantly.
Now we mostly are looking for reaching of highway. I actually tired from driving through mountain roads. We are buying some very cheap oranges - large sack for only few euros and then decide to revisit ruins of Nemea. When we were here a year ago - historical place and museum were closed due "lacking of people who would like work there". And that in country with so high level of unemployed people... It just 15-00 when we are at entry gate to see the label - open up to 15-00...
During this trip we didn't see two autumn blooming species from Pelloponesse - they are Crocus mazziaricus and C. hadriaticus.
Nothing else left than to turn back to highway and then with short stop for coffee, refuelling, buying of some bread, vegetables and bottle of "home wine" (by the way - this case very good) for evening meal - we go to Athens Airport for returning of car and calling "Tina Apartments" where we have reservation for last night. Tina Apartments is nice, small hotel only some 5 km from Airport, but find it isn't easy, so providing Shuttle service there and back 24 hours a day is excellent. And hotel expands. Comparing with last visit there now additional house is built up, there are good parking spot. I'm asking of owner - how are covered capacity in this very out of season time - reply is 70%. Not bad. So if you will select for the first or last night in Athens "Tina Apartments" you must to book them in advance. Of course it is better than look for more distant hotels which are far more expensive. Without breakfast (by our experience from previous case - it was only so-so...) for 4 persons we paid only 65,- Euros. We maid good lunch by ourselves and passed nice evening under star-full sky of Greece.
Next day flight to home was something complicated, generally for my friends. All flights from Athens in Germany had passport control - very slow with careful check of documents at entry of Frankfurt Airport. I have long waiting for next fly to Riga, but my Czech friends must really run from gate to gate.
Our trip was nice end of season. In home waited cleaning of crocus pots from old flowers.
Some (very few) still not started blooming. Outside all is white and covered with some 5 cm of snow.

[Tony Willis]

Janis super report,thank you

[Richard Green]

Janis,
I have enjoyed your story very much, thank you for posting this.

[Steve Garvie]

A great report Janis.
It is good to see these autumn-flowering gems growing naturally.

[sokol]

Nice and interesting report especially for me as we went a similar route on Peloponnese just the other way round 2-3 weeks earlier. We have had no Crocus goulimyi fields like you and no Crocus melantherus around Peleta for example.

[Janis Ruksans]

Nice and interesting report especially for me as we went a similar route on Peloponnese just the other way round 2-3 weeks earlier. We have had no Crocus goulimyi fields like you and no Crocus melantherus around Peleta for example.

It is always very great luck to be in correct place and even more important - in correct time. I 4 times visited Crete in autumn and only now for the first time saw flowers of C. oreocreticus and C. cartwrightianus cretensis in the wild. I three times visited Karpathos Island and up to now didn't see C. ruksansii blooming in nature.