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The saffron crocus (Crocus sativus) is probably the most beautiful plant you’ll ever grow in your hot veg plot. Its beautiful, dreamy flowers and huge, molten-iron-coloured stamens are heart-breakingly beautiful. But that’s not all: this crocus is the source of that heart-breakingly expensive and utterly desirable spice, saffron.
Though saffron might seem the stuff of an altogether more exotic, hotter country, Crocus sativus is very happy in this country. Plant it as you would any normal crocus, in rich soil in a sunny spot where the ground will be baked by the summer sun.
To get a reasonable harvest, plant around thirty corms. The plants burst into flower in the autumn, when you can pick the long wiggly red stamens (do this in the morning with a pair of tweezers), and dry them in your airing cupboard or on a very low heat in the oven.
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