Weather The Storm

After a long winter there is nothing more lovely than a spring garden with decorative garden decor (glass gazing balls are a great addition). That spring bloom can be much more beautiful by following this easy tip.

I’m going to suggest that you go ahead and plant your bulbs and ground phlox first thing in the fall. You
should also put some bulb fertilizers into each hole as you plant the bulbs-and watch to
how far down the store explained to plant. I’ve found that you should usually try to put plant bulbs in groups of odd numbers
scattered about in such a way as that other plants will hide their greenery as the bulbs begin to
wither. If you go about loosey-goosey style spreading them out to and fro, they tend to make a pretty
home look haphazard and messy.

In the spring after your daffodils and tulips have all bloomed it is important to not cut
out all the foliage. It may look unsightly, but cutting it away will hinder your bulbs from
blooming next year. If you will take the patience to let it yellow, it will likely pull out or cut off easier
enough. In fact if it does not pull out of the ground easily then it is not ready to be cut
away or removed. All of the remaining greenery will be making nutrients for the following seasons blooms. Try to just
ignore them until they are truly wilted and yellow.

It is also a good idea to put down some bulb fertilizer in the fall and spring over the areas where you have them planted. Doing this proves to keeps your flower bulbs happy from time to time. Daffodils are a good bulb choice as deer and squirrels seem fairly uninterested in them and
they slowly multiply year after year.

Tulips can be a disappointment!

After a few years they tend to stop blooming or the squirrels have stolen them or the deer have eaten them-they just kind of disappear.

Grape hyacinth and scilla are both lovely small purple flower bulbs, but they can spread to the
point of proving hinderance to your landscape…and, as you can probably guess, you should want to keep this in mind if introducing them. Be sure to have some recycled glass gazing balls and other decorative garden decor too!

The most important thing to remember for a spring garden is you have to get it started in the fall…just another reason why planning ahead is a big part of gardening.

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Knights in the Garden of Spring

Tulips have become so common that we don’t think twice about them, but there was a time when these beautiful bulbs were worth their weight in gold. Best planted in the autumn in most climates, tulips bloom perennially, barring squirrel infiltrations. Originally found free growing in the mountains of Persia, Tulips traveled into Europe with the Turks. The can propagate through off-springs, seeds or micro-propagation and come in a variety of types, each with its own characteristics.

Tulips should be planted in the fall. All tulips need a period of dormancy to bloom properly. If you reside in a cold climate you can plant your bulbs in the early autumn. If you live in a warmer or more tmperate part of the country you will want to plant at the end of the fall season. If you live in a region that doesn’t have cold winters, set your bulbs in the refrigerator for eight weeks before planting them in early spring; this allows them to achieve a sufficiently long dormant period. Give your local landscaping business a call for more tips

Tulips are available in early, mid and late blooming varieties and in dozens of beautiful colors. Singles generally have smooth, simple petal structures and are used in formal plantings. Tulips called doubles look very much like peonies. Fringed tulips are almost lace-like and parrot tulips have streaks of various colors along their petals. The enormous selection is likely to keep you happily engaged in picking your spring show for a while. One thing you should keep in mind though is that tulips look best when planted in clusters or 10-20 of the same flower.

When planting tulips you want to start with the highest quality bulb that you can reasonably afford. A good landscape business will be able to point you in a good direction for a nice selection of bulbs. Choose the best quality tulip blubs for a heartier and more robust blooming year after year. Once you have acquired bulbs you will need to prepare your planting area.

Bulbs need to be planted in loose, well drained soil. The can be planted in either a natural or formal pattern. Multiply the width of the bulb, multiply by 3 and you have an appropriate planting depth. This allows you to plants different bulbs together by layering them. Layering bulbs or planting species that flower at different parts of the summer ensures colorful views for larger periods of time.

Natural planting of bulbs involves either scattering them on the area you intend to plant and place them where they fall, or clustering them together in bunches, rather than rows. A formal setting will likely have many of the same flowers placed together in carefully spaced rows and columns. Add compost with the soil where you plan to plant. Dig down to the appropriate depth, scatter some rock phosphorus in the bottom of the hole and place the tulip bulbs into the hole; point upwards. Rock phosphorus, unlike bone meal, will not attract animals. Cover the bulbs carefully so as not to tip them over and gently pat the soil into place. That’s it.

If you have a serious problem with squirrels digging up your bulbs you may want to protect them by cutting a piece of chicken wire to match the size of your hole. Curl over the edges of the wire and place it on top of the bulbs before you backfill the hole. While this won’t eliminate all squirrel activity it will significantly reduce their depredations. All the supplies needed for planting and protection should be available at a landscape supply store.

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