bulbs

One little bud…

One tiny little bud, trying with all of his (or) her might to peek out and say hello to the world! In a week or so, I should have some lovely daffodils swaying in the breeze. The clumps that I planted in the fall appear to be coming up, but the ones that have been there for 3 years haven’t surfaced yet. I sure hope they didn’t get damaged in any way when we replanted that bed. They were far away from the other plants, but you never know how they can be traumatized. And I have a clump by the front of the driveway that is always the very last of the bulbs to appear, so they will be spread out this year for sure.

Yesterday I planted some California orange poppy plants and some other little things from the Natural Gardener. And while I was hunched over the bed pruning, I almost poked my eye out with the dead lantana and salvia stems, so I started pruning. And before I knew it (or about an hour and a half later, I had one whole side of the river rock path finished! It looks so much better with the dead stuff gone. And now I can actually see some new growth coming up from the ground on the indigo spires and the salvia and maybe even the Mexican oregano. I don’t know why pruning always feels like such a monumental project for me.

Maybe it’s because I am a bee by nature! But yesterday I was the ant and just powered right through a small section of it. Felt good to put on the rubber gloves and get dirty.

P.S. Note to self: Buy some new gloves — these are stinky!

By |2016-04-14T02:47:54-05:00February 11th, 2008|Blog, bulbs, pruning, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring|0 Comments

Bulbs, bulbs, bulbs…

Call me crazy! I have bulbs coming up, right on schedule, like they’re supposed to here in Austin, Texas. BUT, I also still have bulbs sitting in their bags because I was only able to get 1/2 of them in the ground when I was supposed to be planting them. [Here, that’s about Thanksgiving time]


So, I’m trying an experiment. If I don’t plant them, they won’t come up, so I have little to lose other than my time and effort. I put them in the ground this week. Daffodils, irises and allium. This will turn into a beautiful clump of daffodils next Spring — if I’m lucky! [I focus on the daffodils because the deer have left them alone] The irises and allium are a test. I’m assuming the scent of the allium might protect them — we’ll see.
How hideous is this? Know what it is?

We have a pomegranate tree in the front bed and I simply can’t get the fruit to ripen properly, or I’m not picking them properly. They seem to be very under-ripe and then, WHAM — they explode. This looks like a scary Halloween mask to me!

Mystery Plant Revealed!

I received lots of good guesses about this vine — but no correct answers. So, drumroll, please! Here it is….my fabulous, young WISTERIA, on the back fence, starting to take on some color and getting ready for beautiful spring blooms.

By |2016-04-14T02:47:54-05:00February 10th, 2008|Blog, bulbs, mystery, Sharing Nature's Garden, trees, wisteria|5 Comments

The jasmines are back, the jasmines are back!

This is so exciting to me.  The bright yellow bloom of the primrose jasmine is the first harbinger of Spring here in Austin, Texas, and I’ve found a handful popping out throughout our neighborhood. 

They just make me smile from ear to ear.  It’s the promise of a brighter day and a new season of growth and beauty.  I look forward to them, and then shortly thereafter, my daffodils and various other bulbs.
Speaking of which, I didn’t get my leftover bulbs in the ground last weekend, choosing instead to focus on tearing out tomatoes and planting seeds.  We’re supposed to get up to 68 or 70 degrees Saturday and Sunday, so I’ll push that up to the top of the list again!
By |2016-04-14T02:47:55-05:00January 30th, 2008|Blog, bulbs, jasmine, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring|0 Comments

Helloooooooo down there!



Ah. Spring. Well, not really Spring. But, the promise of Spring.

We’ve had cold (for us – 40 degrees) weather and rain and gray skies for several weeks. But when the sun came out today, you would have thought we hadn’t seen it in months! It was delightful. From the steam rising off the plants as it warmed so quickly this morning, to the beautiful morning light, the promise of this day was full.

So, I grabbed the camera and headed out to search for other signs of Spring. And I found them. Just a few little bulbs peeking out- sending up their delicate shoots to check on the weather up here and decide whether or not they really want to show up for the dance!

I’m so sad to report that in the holiday rush, I only got about 1/2 of the bulbs I bought into the ground. But, we should still have about 50 new bulbs joining the existing burst of color that always makes me smile every time I walk outside in the late winter here. (Because it really isn‘t Spring, yet, and won’t be for quite some time!)

I wonder if I can keep the other bulbs somewhere and plant them next season? I don’t really think so, but I hate to waste them.

So, with 72 degrees on the horizon for tomorrow, I can’t even decide where to start. But I know that tomorrow will be spent outdoors, soaking up the vitamin D I’ve been missing and getting my hands dirty somehow. I can’t wait!

By |2016-04-14T02:47:55-05:00January 26th, 2008|Blog, bulbs, Sharing Nature's Garden, spring|0 Comments
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