Good morning y’all,
Hope you enjoyed this past weekend in your garden. Three beautiful, consecutive days to play in the dirt…what a great gift from the Earth.
Poppies that consistently produced one or two blooms in January and February are now putting out six or seven at a time, making the garden a happy place. Ditto for the dear faces of the violas that line the pathway, with the alyssum adding a lovely fragrance to enjoy. Dwarf daffodils that bloomed underneath bachelor buttons are now almost obscured as the buttons have taken off like rockets. Snapdragons are heavily budded; foxgloves signaling they are about to flower cup their leaves to indicate bloom spikes are rapidly approaching; muscari (grape hyacinths) have been deadheaded and are producing their last flowers; the crocus are already disappearing, not to be seen again until next year; and the hyacinths, their last blooms spent, are beginning to brown and die back. Tulips, although short-lived, brought me great joy when I cut them and brought them inside.
Some folks think because of their short blooming period, bulbs are not worth planting but I couldn’t disagree more. I encourage you to plant the fall bulbs and enjoy spring color. Planting is so simple and easy (dig, drop and cover), and with planting not occurring until at least Thanksgiving (fall planting), the cool temperatures mean you won’t even sweat! Not to mention the fact I need color in the garden in late January and February and their appearance lifts my spirits. Next fall consider adding a few to your garden.
For those of you who have never planted these spring-blooming bulbs, I encourage you to buy a few this fall, refrigerate the bulbs until after Thanksgiving, so that you too can enjoy early flowers on dreary winter days.
FROST WARNING: Temperatures are dropping to 41 degrees this weekend. A frost is possible. It thundered February 1, so the expression I use is once again, right on the mark.
From my garden,
Libby
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