The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Posted on by Posted in Bulbs .

I am going to take you through my recent bulb planting in rapid fire fashion because, well, that is also how I put my plan together before I started.

Here we go:

1)Narcissus ‘Jack Snipe’:  

Quick logic behind location (see photo below):

  • These are early spring bloomers so my daughter will have something nice to look at out of her playroom window.
  • That is actually all I got.

Negatives after evaluating my location decision:

  • Once these stop blooming, the spent flowers/foliage will be front and center without any attempt at hiding it behind emerging perennials.
  • These are so small (10 inches) that they probably cannot be seen from within the house.

2)Narcissus ‘Tahiti’:

Quick logic behind location (see photo below):

  • I found an actual open space.
  • I may be able to have these blooming at the same time as the purple Campanula ‘Joan Elliot’ in front of them.
  • When spent, these Narcissus may be hidden relatively well

Negatives after evaluating my location decision:

  • I think the height of the blooming Narcissus and Campanula are exactly the same so one will actually hide the other.
  • Do I even like these Narcissus? Not really sure yet. 

3)Allium ‘Grateful’:

Quick logic behind location (see photo below):

  • I found an actual open space.
  • I found a space that was open.

Negatives after evaluating my location decision:

  • Unsure if the bloom color will work with the neighboring Lady’s Mantle and peonies. 
  • The spent foliage will be in plain view.

A potential positive spin after even further review:

  • Spent Allium blooms are kind of cool and can lend a bit architecturally.

4)Allium ‘Globemaster‘:

Quick logic behind location (see photo below, will be in the middle of the bed):

  • I planted only one bulb as a trial run so location wasn’t a concern.

Negatives after evaluating my location decision:

  • None that I can think of yet. But give me time.

And then to top it all off, since I have failed numerous times in the past to successfully grow tulips in my wet soil, I figured why not give them a shot in containers. I will just store them in my garage over the winter. I’ve done it once before with moderate success so I am optimistic that I can pull it off again. And since I used bulbs from Martha Stewart, nothing can go wrong:
 

Wish me luck.

John

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9 Responses

  1. I have better luck with tuplips in pots than in the ground, we garden on stones bound with clay, which tulips do not like! You could in the future, plant your bulbs into plastic pots, plunge the pots into the ground and then when they are done flowering take the pot and bulbs out and hide them somewhere out of the way so you don’t have to look at the dying leaves!

  3. I think I may have gone overboard with the bulbs this year. I’ve planted SO many bulbs, and still have some more of the Allium moly to go. I’m trying for a succession of flowers, from early to late spring. I’ve got some autumn blooming crocus and “daffodil” coming up now.

    Next year I may try some freesia for summer, in addition to the glads and calla lilies I dig up yearly.

    Damned if I know what variety muscarii I had planted years ago, but it produced a metric ton of bulblets so I planted them all over the place

    Scilla siberica (100) I got from Costco.

    The rest are from John Scheepers
    Ornithogalum nutans “Silver Bells” (25)
    Ornithogalum balansae (50)
    Narcissus poeticus “Angel Eyes” (20)
    Allium moly “Jeannine” (50)
    Allium carinatum s. Pulchellum (10)
    Allium flavum (10)
    Allium schubertii (5)
    Allium low growing mixture (25)
    Galanthus nivalis Flore Pleno (10)
    Leucojum aestivum (25)

  4. I still have not purchased any bulbs. The allium will spread over the years and I like that with that kind of plant. I leave the stems up where they still look good and then take down the ones that have spread into the yard once they stop blooming. You have some great choices of blub colors.

  5. I am having the same thoughts regarding my bulb-a-palooza locations – their spent foliage is going to be front and center for all to see (well, me). If I had the energy I’d dig them up and move them but I clearly don’t care THAT much.

  8. So what’s wrong with a little spent foliage showing,,,once it withers enough, I just cut
    it down!
    Here’s hoping your luck will permit us to see some pic’s of these newly planted bulbs
    in the spring.:)

  9. Bulbs are the essence of hope in the garden. I generally have the same mixed feelings when I place bulbs. I’veplanted Allium ‘Graceful’ as well this year but I’ve finally given up on tulips – even pre-chilled in the refrigerator, they get knocked out by our Santa Ana winds before blooming too often to be worthwhile. I’m compensating by adding ranunculus, which actually like our SoCal climate.

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