I'm going bulb crazy

Ok so I keep planting bulbs and then thinking of more spots that would be perfect with a little spring color, so I keep buying more! I have gone slightly bulb crazy. Who knows if they will even bloom in my garden (they need well drained sandy soil, and our soil is more clay than it could be) but at least I am buying them cheap. It's the very end of season here - we'll have a hard frost and some snow by Wednesday night - so everything is cut price as people scurry to get them in the ground, watered in, and well rooted before the ground freezes.

If they survive, I will have a lovely garden this spring with loads of brilliant color! If they don't, well, I'll know to dig them up and try something else.

Thursday I got a fair amount of planting done while Katie was here watching the girls. Of course I spent half the time she was here cleaning up after the cat, who was puking everywhere, but that's another story.

In the front corner edge of the garden, where the hosta bed meets the walkway, I have a nice mostly sunny spot. I put in a nice plot with clusters of triumph tulips, a couple pink and deep blue hyacinth, and then covered the whole thing with crocus to be my early color.

I got in a row of hyacinth by the laundry window - hopefully as they bloom I can open the window and let that heavenly scent coat my washing! I have three clusters about 6" apart of a pink (the fondant) and blue (blue jacket) hyacinth there.

At the very front left (NW) corner of the hosta garden I put in a great bed of crocus and anemone. The anemone were weird shaped bulbs. Like little nuggets or bark kind of, no pointed end to say which way was up. I have NO idea if they'll take.

I still want a bunch on the N side of the house (light but no direct sun - we'll see?) The tulips have to go in brighter light than the daffs or hyacinth so I'll put those in the rose garden, along the back fence facing East, next to the ugly bush in front, or around the columbine.

All bulbs need to be planted in the impatien bed but we have a vole eating everything there, so I need to a) kill the vole and b) cage the bulbs with chicken wire before they go in. This is a much more time consuming job than it sounds like, especially with two little kids. Wire cutters and preschoolers: not a good combination.

Anyway here's what else I picked up today!


This beautiful mix of species tulips is called the Peppermint Stick Duet. They flower together with colors that set each other off, and look beautiful at least in the pictures. We shall see!

These lovely double tulips are called Angelique. Very feminine aren't they? They will be nice for cut flowers!

Look at this show stopper! When I saw it I was sold, it's stunning. It's called a Woodstock hyacinth and descriptions of its color range from beet red to wine burgundy. I can't wait to see it bloom, it will be a showpiece if I can get it going!

Finally a mix of daffodils called butterflies - the trumpets are split, as you can see in the picture, and frill back towards the petals so they have a shape kind of like butterflies. They do look very springy and fragrant!

Anyway I can't wait for spring to see what shows up. Everything is planted correctly, given a little blood meal (12-0-0), mulched VERY heavily for winter with cedar; I"ll remove mulch in spring; and watered in good. Nothing to do now but wait right?