Being a garden blogger, who has been at it as long as I have, has its privileges.

A few weeks back I received an e-mail from someone who I had previously interviewed on one of my old podcasts (RIP my podcast) letting me know she was sending me a package.

I like.

This package would contain bulbs from John Scheepers, the renowned flower bulb company.

I like even more.

Here’s the best part: she had read through my blog and determined the bulbs that would be the best fit for me and my conditions.

She nailed it.

Those bulbs arrived a few days ago and I was thrilled to have another garden task left on my plate this late in the season. I dread the winter and nothing left on the to-do list.

So I happily endured the high winds and cooler temps and got to planting my haul.

I cherish the challenge of where to plant bulbs in my garden. Like so many of you, I have little empty space available, but of course, we manage to find a way. We will always be able to squeeze in more plants.

We never say “I’m good.”

With bulb planting it requires some imagination. We need to imagine what our garden will look like at the time the bulbs are scheduled to bloom. We need to anticipate the state of all of the plants surrounding these blooms.

The in-flower bulbs can’t be blocked by other plants.

The bulbs can conveniently reside in an area that is bare in spring, but will eventually be occupied by perennials. The added advantage here is that the emerging perennials can hide the declining foliage which needs to decline in order to restore energy to that bulb.

But you all know this already; I’m preaching to the choir.

After a 20-minute strategy session with myself, I had a plan of attack for getting all of these new bulbs in the ground.

Out came the shovel, the trowel and I got to work.

 

I did my best to work around existing plants, trying to not disturb their roots. I think I succeeded but only time will tell.

I considered taking detailed notes to ensure that I would remember what was planted where, but that would be too logical.

I opted for being surprised come spring.

Because these bulbs were gifted to me, it would be easy to simply say:

“Oh yeah, they were all in perfect condition.”

But the truth is, they really were.

Like pristine and healthier than any other bulb I’ve ever planted.

 

No lie.

I also managed to find large swaths of earth that had yet to be traversed, which allows me to plant these bulbs in bulk for maximum impact come bloom time.

As you can see in the photo to the left here, my soil is not what you would call “ideal”. Far from it.

But from all that I’ve researched, these bulbs were chosen for that exact reason. They’re tougher than the more tender options.

That there is quality customer service from John Scheepers.

Within an hour or so, I had all of the bulbs planted in the ground with the exception of one pack of 10 daffodils (narcissus).

This was part of the master plan as I love to plant some bulbs directly into a container and store it in my attached garage for the long cold winter.

Come spring, the foliage will appear and I’ll then move the container outside on to my back deck where the flowers can be enjoyed from inside the house.

The only winter maintenance is the occasional watering but not too much or else the bulbs become susceptible to rotting.

Beyond that it is simply sit back and wait.

Before I show you the exact bulbs I was given, along with photos of what they will look like when in flower (courtesy of the John Scheepers website), I have to share something else with you that is funny.

Well it’s funny in its seriousness.

I wrote a poem.

About bulbs.

And actually shared it with readers over at Medium.

 

 

If you have the intestinal fortitude and won’t be embarrassed by amateurish poetry, check it out by clicking here.

You’ve been warned.

Here are the 6 different varieties of bulbs I planted. I encourage you to read more about them on the John Scheepers website (click on the bulb name to read more).

I can’t wait to post the flowering photos in spring where we can then see just how phenomenal I am with garden design.

Or not.

But at least the flowers on their own will be pretty.

Enjoy.

Allium ‘Pinball Wizard’

 

Brodiaea laxa ‘Silver Queen’

 

Ornithogalum nutans ‘Silver Bells’

 

Hyacinthoides hispanica ‘Excelsior’

 

Narcissus ‘British Gamble’

 

Narcissus ‘Decoy’