In late summer of 2014, I ordered about a thousand bulbs from a wholesaler, thinking I would be have the whole of the new front yard bed to put them in. That project is still in progress, as of late summer 2015,[1] so I stuffed the bulbs wherever I could.
tete a tete daffs. lensbaby, 28apr15. What I love about these is that they're roughly the same scale as a lot of my other bulbs—crocus, hyacinth, etc.
Bulbs are one of my indulgences, because of the disconnect between the time I plant them and the time they come up—by then, I've forgotten how many I've planted, and therefore, have only the vaguest idea how many have become gourmet rodent food. And I always am so ready for spring, and bulbs are to me a fabulous way of celebrating the coming growing season.[2]
Lungwort, with squill and grape hyacinth.
I have a bit more luck with tulips here than at the old house, but the daffs struggle and I really miss the way they multipled; my old reliables in this garden the squill, which starting naturalizing from the yard behind ours, and which I've encouraged—I probably have thousands now; crocus, especially my beloved striped Pickwick; and grape hyacinth. Lungwort, a native species with silver spotted leaves, blue to violet flowers, and shade-loving habit, pairs wonderfully with them; and I'm finally having some luck spreading it about.
Grape hyacinths.
I've had good luck with grape hyacinths, with one patch coming up reliably every year;[3] the messy foliage, during crocus time, always concerns me that there will be no flowers—and then there are!
I adore these big hyacinths, and a number of them bloomed. Usually in following years they're never so robust, so I made certain to particularly enjoy them this year. This is the only picture shot with the zuiko, as opposed to the lensbaby.
Since the yard is still in progress, I decided not to order bulbs this year; instead, I finally replaced my non-performing hydrangea with a new lacecap that blooms on new wood as well as old. I spent a good chunk of the day digging up the old one, burying logs for additional moisture, paper shreds for acid, and lots of mulch—the old soil, while not bad is not the rich black compost with which I have slowly been amending various bits of the yard. See, I am making progress!
post completed 16sep2015
[1]The house has settled, so the top of the foundation is even with the sidewalk, further complicated by the shallowly rooted maples that act as our air-conditioning in the summer. And then a knowledgeable expert offered to install a real pond, not just a rain garden...
[2]These are actually somewhat later; the siberian iris, crocus, chinoxus, etc are in an earlier lot of photos, from 10–12apr15.
[3]Oddly enough they often send up foliage in the fall, as well as the spring. Whatever.
Unless otherwise noted, text, image and objects depicted therein copyright 1996--present sylvus tarn.
