Don’t miss the plant chosen by our volunteer garden team as their favourite in the Flower Gardens at Paxton House this month.

The mysterious lavender-purple flowers of autumn crocuses Colchicum autumnale are pushing up at the back of the border by the Lily Pool at Paxton this month.  This British native, beloved of bees, is peculiar in producing flowers late in the summer before the arrival of its straplike leaves in the Spring, a habit that has earned it the common name Naked Ladies. The plant’s Latin name comes from the fabled land of Colchis, the destination of Jason and the Argonauts’ quest for the Golden Fleece in Greek mythology. Did you know that has been used since at least the 6^th century as a cure for gout and colchicine is still prescribed by the NHS today?