Barely two weeks after Cambridge found itself blanketed with heavy snow, a spell of sunny weather over the weekend has brought the crocuses on the Backs beautifully into bloom.

Earlier in the month, Cambridge experienced a minimum temperature of -13.6 degrees Celsius on February 11th. Yet last weekend’s surprise highs of 16 degrees Celsius saw the crocuses suddenly flourish, heralding the start of springtime in the city.

The lilac ‘woodland crocus’ (Crocus Tommasinianus) was in particular profusion on the strip of land between Queen’s Road and the Trinity College Paddocks and onlookers stopped to admire the burst of colour and pose for photos amidst the purple.

Every year, the blossoming of crocuses along The Avenue behind Trinity provides an intensely colourful and iconic picture-postcard view of Cambridge, with the Wren Library in the background and Kings’ College Chapel just visible through the trees.

Crocus Chrysanthus, or the ‘snow crocus’, usually flourishes in late February, between the flowering of the snowdrops and the daffodils. This plant is remarkably resilient, and can often be seen blooming even through a light snowfall.A waxy cuticle surrounds both the leaves and the flowers of the snow crocus, protecting it from frost and cold weather.

However, the unusually late and particularly heavy fall of snow earlier this month led to fears that the plants’ growth would be damaged.

Dennis Footman, head gardener at Trinity College, admitted, “Initially, I was slightly worried that the heavy snowfall in the last month would have been too heavy for the plant to grow. But they have come through nicely, bringing through a lot of colour.

“The crocus flowers have kick-started spring and are just about peaking now.

“They are the first to really come through after the snowdrop and help to form an iconic landscape for both residents and tourists.”

Early documentation suggests that crocuses were first cultivated and harvested in the Mediterranean, but hopes for a ‘Mediterranean March’ in are unlikely to be fulfilled, despite a weekend of unseasonably warm weather.

After the mild temperatures of the past week, unfortunately, Met office forecasters predict cooler weather for the rest of the month.