Alpine Walks in Valais

[Maggi Young]

How delightful.... crocus time in the Alps......and here today in Aberdeen it was trying to snow!

[tonyg]

 

And the shot of the caltha over the river is fab too!

I always end my crocus talk with the thought that I can look forward to mid-summer crocus on holiday after I have finished collecting seed at home.  Last night I was collecting seed and today ..... 

[ranunculus]

Viewing these tremendous images near O'Hare airport in Chicago, Robin.  Beautiful contrast to the flowers we have been experiencing in Mid-West gardens over the past few days and totally different to the things we will see on the next leg of our lecture tour in Washington, D.C.
Many thanks for posting.

[Maggi Young]

A quick Forum Fix, provided by an internet connection during an airport wait is a grand way to pass the time and keep all the international rock gardeners in touch with each-other. 
Bon voyage for the continuation of your North American Tour, Cliff.... I do hope you are getting some time to take photos as well as show them??

[Lvandelft]

Robin, walking in such Crocus fields must be like entering a candy shop, isn't it? 
Thanks for sharing!

[Ragged Robin]

So glad you all enjoyed the Crocus meadows wherever you are.....even in transit!  Not only Crocus were flowering but Corydalis too, as far as the eye could see, and some interesting colours against the rocks

[Ragged Robin]

Cut off in the winter the chalet owners are returning to the hamlet here and it is a thriving community for the rest of the year.  With plenty of fresh water plants spring up dramatically on the ground or in rock crevices, like the Primula Hirsuta (For Armin, especially)

[Maggi Young]

Wonderful pictures!
Impossible to "walk" in these meadows.... it would be too cruel to walk on the flowers!  I'd have to just stand and stare........

[Ragged Robin]

Thanks Maggi
I did pick my way through the Crocus with great care - Jazzy didn't but they sprang up again no problem! It is hard to imagine how small these Crocus are and you have to focus to see them from above but once the camera is at ground level all is revealed  This was about the first day of flowering so they were in peak form and I was thrilled to capture them the day before returning to the UK 

[Maggi Young]

Perfect timing, Robin... what a shame it would have been for you ( and us!!) to have missed the sight.
Have a good trip!

[Luc Gilgemyn]

Great Spring views once again Robin !
The Crocus look fabulous !  Thanks a lot for showing and have a good trip !!

[Ragged Robin]

Luc, it certainly was great to see Spring in the Alps before leaving and I have to say it was warmer there than here 

Thanks to you and Maggi for your good wishes.

[Lesley Cox]

How can you bear to leave such a place Robin? Thanks for these amazing pictures. While Franz and Thomas have tamed the Crocus lawn, this wild version is surely the best of all.

Like Tony though, my favourite picture is the very first with the Caltha newly sprung from cold earth to gaze across the water.

[Ragged Robin]

I have to say, Lesley, it was really hard to leave with something new appearing each day with the arrival of Spring.  However it was very satisfying to see the amazing Crocus meadows in all their glory as the two days before had been shrouded in mist. The Caltha are truly wonderful in their generous golden flowering when everything still seems so dry and dead - a real promise of a new season to enjoy and a feeling of regeneration along the waterways.

[cohan]

great show--spring really comes with a vengeance there
very lucky that you were able to catch that meadow before leaving! how long will you be away?