Bulb Time

Seems like I had ordered these a life time ago. This is a big enough order, but I have ordered more in the past. I haven’t bought this amount of bulbs in awhile, so it was so fun to see that box in my garage.

My order included 250 tulips, 200 daffodils, 12 allium, 50 hyacinths, 5 crown imperial fritillaria,

The Allium bulbs were like giant garlic gloves. I ordered Pinball Wizard which is a larger blue allium.

The hyacinths were also a nice size. I do plant these a bit closer and I planted several groupings of five bulbs. I have never been bothered by this bulb, although I do typically wear gloves when I dig and plant. I guess the hyacinth bulb can cause some skin irritation. I had ordered Sweet Invitation and Aqua.

The soil was already prepped. So it was an easy enjoyable garden task. It did take a few days to get all of the bulbs in, but I wasn’t in any rush. I wanted to savor the time. This will be a large grouping of tulips

I had ordered double tulips this time around. Double Shake and Foxy Foxtrot. I also received a mixture of single tulips that I potted up in large pots. The pots will stay in the garage until early spring. I also potted up several daffodils and hyacinths for forcing. I didn’t plan for forcing last year, and regretted it later.

I use glass jars with beads and marbles along with some stones. Filling with water just below the bulbs. This works well for the daffodils. The hyacinths have a special jar that I use. I also did a few tulips this year using the water and stone method. The tulips will remain in the cool, dark garden room for about 12 weeks and the daffodils take 16 weeks of chill time.

My friend the Woolly Bear Caterpillar is telling me he is not sure about winter time. The wider the band the more mild the winter, so it goes, So, it looks about half way, not sure what that means.

In my gardening area, zone 6a, bulbs can be planted right up to the moment that the ground freezes. Bulb time is now in the past. Ready to move forward and dream of all the spring color. Planting bulbs does take some planning and I guess it is true that it shows that the gardener has faith and is able to dream, moving forward in time.

Happy Bulb Gardening.