Tulips and Tibbs

This has been a terrible spring for my garden. First of all, I’ve spent very little time in it. I gave Vanities, my final show of the season, every bit of my free time. Then, we had that nasty cold spell in early April. I watched in horror as my magnolia buds were reduced to mush. Finally, my baby, and beloved gardening companion, Mr. Tibbs passed away. The only time I braved the terrible weather this spring was to bury him in the Heart Bed. I haven’t wanted to go back out since.

If it weren’t for the tulips, I don’t know if I could have revived my gardening spirits. They haven’t minded my inattention or the cold. Despite my heartache, they’ve been bravely, gaily blooming. The colorful cups have been silkily bouncing in the breeze, calling me back to the garden. I am thankful for that.

I made plans to plant the tulips last April. At that time, following the initial blooms of the crocus, hyacinth, and daffodils, I found myself faced with a flowerless garden as I awaited the June flush. I vowed then to plant more tulips, along with moss phlox and candytuft. I’m so glad I did.

The “Apple Blossom” mix from Home Depot is pictured here. The blooms were supposed to be in shades of pink and white, but, someone got their bulbs mixed up. I still like the effect. In the rose bed, I planted all red tulips within view the dining room window (perfect for a shot of color on dreary days). I also experimented with species tulips around the pond, green tulips in the SE border, and “fire” tulips in the heart bed. Finally, I buried Mr. Tibbs with a bouquet of pink tulips.

The flowers will forever be bittersweet to me; they represent both death and life. I miss Mr. Tibbs terribly and there isn’t a spot in the garden without a memory of him. I am ready, though, to begin put the loss behind me and celebrate the beauty of growing, living things. Thank goodness for the tulips.

Rescued Hyacinth

Last April, I rescued a number of hyacinth bulbs from the parking lot of Friendship Park. They had finished blooming and been yanked to make way for the annuals display. With the "okay" from the park staff, I carried off as many as my buddy and I could handle and planted them that very night. My readers wondered…"Will they grow?"

I’m happy to announce that not only did they grow, they are blooming.


While the flower spikes aren’t as dense as they were the first year (freshly plumped up from the fields of Holland or someplace), I think they’ve done very well for bulbs yanked from their loamy homes, fried on a parking lot, and then planted in cruddy clay. The tulips haven’t done as well. I’ve spotted only a single sickly leaf poking up from the location in which I planted 20 or so recovered bulbs.

I didn’t notice a big hyacinth display at the park this year, but I’m going to take a second look because I love "free!"

180 Crocus

Fall of 2005, I planted 100 crocus along the front walk, thinking that I’d have a veritable flower carpet in the spring. Spring 2006 arrived, and I was underwhelmed, so I planned to plant more crocus along the walk in the fall. Fall of 2006, I added 80 more bulbs. (Amazingly, I didn’t run into a single one of the first 100 while digging the next 80 holes.) Spring has come again and I still don’t think I have enough crocus for my desired effect!



I think I am still unhappy with the number of blooms for two reasons:
1. The crocus haven’t had time to naturalize into nice clumps.
2. We mowed too early last year and some of the Fall 2005 planted bulbs weren’t able to store enough energy for a good show this year.

This season, I’ll be sure to keep Mike and the lawn mower away from the front path until at least the first of May. And, I think I’ll add 200 more bulbs to the walk this Fall. Maybe I’ll have my flower carpet by Spring 2008?

Little Iris, Big Joy

Last spring, I was amazed to discover that certain iris bloom in early spring. I spotted a few of these beauties in Friendship Park and even more in Tim’s paradise. I placed my first bulb order of the (2006) season in June (I know - sick!) and included forty-eight Iris reticulata. They were planted along the street-side entrance to the front path last fall. This week they began blooming. I’m in love.

Not only do I love the petite flowers, the timing of the blooms could not be more perfect. They opened after the crocus, but before the daffodils. (At least, before the daffodils in MY yard. The daffodils at Friendship Park are going nuts.) With these early bloomers, Dutch iris, regular iris, and repeat-blooming iris, I suppose I could have iris in bloom all season!

I’m interested to see how the foliage die-down is. I doubt it will be ugly enough to keep me from ordering at least forty-eight more.

TB Failure

I’m afraid I’ve failed to follow through with my weekend plans. Terese Bugnet still sits in her stairway obstructing position. I was stymied by frozen earth. I managed to remove some of the rose’s suckers (and potted them up as insurance), but the closer I got to the deck, the more like Ben and Jerry’s fresh from the freezer the dirt became.

So, I took a break, hoping the earth would thaw, and did a number of other garden tasks. I finished pruning the roses. I removed all of the babies from the potager (leaving behind neat, eggcrate-like holes in the earth) and worked in 100 lbs of compost and manure. I direct sowed cleome, sweet alyssum, and foxglove. I bailed out the leaf-choked pond and filled it with fresh water. I filled the hanging baskets with Johnny jump-ups. After a few hours of garden house-keeping, I returned to Terese, but my shovel was still only as effective as a plastic spoon.

So, I took a tour of the yard, looking for emerging plants. I found that the tulips are indeed emerging (including the beautifully spotted foliage of this tulip). I photographed the breathtakingly lovely dodecatheon rosettes (pictured right) pushing through the leaf litter in the shade bed. I discovered that a few of the crocus along the front walk have begun to bloom. (Has anyone else noticed that the yellow crocus bloom first?)

I returned to the rose. I chipped away at the softening dirt, but, encountering more permafrost, I finally gave up. I always feel bad about leaving a project half finished. It weighs on my mind, and, this early in the season, my neighbors also have to endure the view of work in progress. However, I still accomplished a great deal for a Sunday, and returned inside with an overpowering urge for ice cream.

Early March Bulb Update

My first flowers of 2007 have appeared: snowdrops and witch hazel.

The snowdrops in my yard always seem to be a bit later than others in Zone 6. It could be because I disturb the bulbs every year. I really need to stop digging in the corner bed. I enjoy snowdrops and I’d like to remember to buy a whole boat load for the North Corner next fall. Tim has promised me some of his, but so far it’s only talk.

I bought the witch hazel (Arnold’s Promise) for its reputed scent. Admittedly, half the shrub has died, but even when I bury my nose in the flowers on the other half, I don’t smell a thing. I’m starting to think my sniffer isn’t as sophisticated as I once supposed. Migonette smells like old Mexican food and my witch hazel is scentless. Huh.

While not yet in flower, I see foliage from these bulbs or bulb-like plants:

• English Bluebells
• Hyacinths
• Daffodils
• Crocus
• Iris reticulata
• Allium (but they sprouted in the fall!)
• Grape hyacinth (another fall sprouter)

No sign of life from the tulips or miniature daffodils yet. This is the first time I’ve grown species tulips or miniature daffodils, so I don’t know if I should be expecting leaves yet. Last year, the hybridized tulips (Darwin-ish type), began blooming in mid-April. I guess I’ll have to wait another month to see if the squirrels ate them.