Just when it looks like everything is going dormant for winter, up pops this little beauty. It is saffron crocus, source of world’s most expensive seasoning. Saffron is actually easy to grow, but the painstaking harvest of those red, thread-like filaments accounts for the price. They are the pistils–the female reproductive parts of the plants. The shorter, fatter bits are the stamens, covered with yellow pollen.

Saffron crocus are the backwards plants: opposite of everything else in the garden. The leaves come up in the fall and flowers open in October and November. The leaves remain green all winter and then vanish in the spring. Saffron crocus are well adapted to hot, dry summers and are the perfect complement to any xeriscape.

There are other fall blooming crocuses, but saffron—Crocus sativa—is the only one with the amazing flavor.