Crocuses Bloom at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

March 14, 2016 - This past fall, GGN oversaw the planting of 382,616 crocus corms at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The crocuses are now in bloom.

One of the Museum’s themes is “Hope and Optimism,” and the crocus field communicates this uplifting aspect of the Museum’s mission by being the first thing to bloom on the National Mall. Once established, these flowers should bloom annually during Black History Month. In African American culture, the color blue is traditionally a color of protection, so the crocuses’ blue tone symbolizes passing through a threshold into a safe place. Passing into a welcoming place is an important concept in the Museum’s landscape design, and this is why the blooming crocuses are an important part of GGN's landscape story.