Want to See Some Tulips?
Two days of rain and cold temperatures earlier this week (what else is new in this strange climate) have led to nice sunny days now and I am thrilled to report to you that . . .
. . . . . I have tulips. I do!
It's a miracle. Un milagro. I couldn't have them in my Connecticut garden. Wet winters, voles, rabbits, deer and chipmunks prevented tulips from growing.
But here in sandy soil, protected inside a fenced area and up against a garage wall, I have a whole row of them. They are standing sentinel behind some rocks, and in front of the row are low, twiggy sumac shrubs that won't leaf out until late May when the tulips are done.
You can't even see the sumacs in early spring. It's like they are not there, and that was the idea. The tulips can be seen from afar and when their spent foliage gets ratty the sumacs will be leafy enough by then to cover them up.
Eventually, later in spring the area will look like this, with the sumacs filled out and the declining tulips hidden behind.
My tulip crop is such a success that I'm going to plant more. I'll add more orange and yellow to this grouping, and plant a new row of tulips behind the patio table by the fence, and there may be no stopping me now.
There are many signs of spring now. A 'Burkwood' viburnum is in full bloom, and it's fragrant. When we first moved here it was a drought stricken twig that I could barely identify. After lots of water, some pruning and a bit of care, it came back last summer.
Now, this spring, it is recovered and flowering. This woody shrub will get too big for the space by the deck steps, but that's a future worry. Right now I'm just happy to see it look so good and smell so fine. Take a whiff.
Catmint plants are in bloom now too. They're very hard to photograph, somehow the blue purple confuses my camera and Jim's fancy camera lenses and the iPhone too.
A small patch of flowering vinca is coming in from under the neighbor's fence in the work /storage area of my garden. It's unassuming but pretty.
Suddenly there is much to do in my small courtyard. After a wet winter, so much cold and now some spring sun, everything is exploding. I need to get my employees organized and my tools ready and my supplies sourced. I need to get going.
But before that, I'm going to go over to the garage and look at some tulips. Want to come?
. . . . . I have tulips. I do!
It's a miracle. Un milagro. I couldn't have them in my Connecticut garden. Wet winters, voles, rabbits, deer and chipmunks prevented tulips from growing.
But here in sandy soil, protected inside a fenced area and up against a garage wall, I have a whole row of them. They are standing sentinel behind some rocks, and in front of the row are low, twiggy sumac shrubs that won't leaf out until late May when the tulips are done.
You can't even see the sumacs in early spring. It's like they are not there, and that was the idea. The tulips can be seen from afar and when their spent foliage gets ratty the sumacs will be leafy enough by then to cover them up.
Eventually, later in spring the area will look like this, with the sumacs filled out and the declining tulips hidden behind.
My tulip crop is such a success that I'm going to plant more. I'll add more orange and yellow to this grouping, and plant a new row of tulips behind the patio table by the fence, and there may be no stopping me now.
There are many signs of spring now. A 'Burkwood' viburnum is in full bloom, and it's fragrant. When we first moved here it was a drought stricken twig that I could barely identify. After lots of water, some pruning and a bit of care, it came back last summer.
Now, this spring, it is recovered and flowering. This woody shrub will get too big for the space by the deck steps, but that's a future worry. Right now I'm just happy to see it look so good and smell so fine. Take a whiff.
Catmint plants are in bloom now too. They're very hard to photograph, somehow the blue purple confuses my camera and Jim's fancy camera lenses and the iPhone too.
A small patch of flowering vinca is coming in from under the neighbor's fence in the work /storage area of my garden. It's unassuming but pretty.
But before that, I'm going to go over to the garage and look at some tulips. Want to come?
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