October 28, 2019

This Year's Bulb Roundup

I am happy to report that all of my bulbs are now in the ground! Woohoo! It was right down to the wire this time, too. Saturday was so warm—it got up to 60 degrees F in the afternoon—and I knew that it was probably really truly the last warm day of the year. I wouldn’t mind being wrong in that prediction, but this week we’ve had a cold front come in that has us barely getting up above freezing as a HIGH. So yeah. I knew I had to finish up Saturday.

I still had about 175 bulbs to put in, and as these things go, my children all needed my help with various projects. Finally around 2pm I got out there and started digging! I was hustling, let me tell you! Got it done and went in to make dinner, when I remembered the two euonymous shrubs that I had purchased earlier this month. Back out I went. My dinner plans ended up getting postponed for something easier!

I may end up having to move both of those shrubs in the spring. I put one in at the end of the same little bed the lilac bush was in and the roots were thick as I was digging a hole for it. I don’t know if it’s going to be able to compete there or not. I’m not super happy with the placement of the other one, either—it’s in the shade bed next to the front porch. What’s more, I read the tag as I was putting it in the hole and it said “Full sun.” Say what?! That bed definitely does not get full sun! The other euonymous I have grown have been shade lovers, I’m certain of it. So anyway, so much for doing a rush job. At least they’re tucked into the ground for the winter. If I need to move them next spring, so be it.

Okay, without further ado, here’s the list of bulbs I put in this year—divided into categories:

 

Those are the allium right there in front (bearded iris behind.)

ALLIUMS

25—Allium amplectens ‘Graceful Beauty’ (white, small)

10—Allium caesium (blue, about 2” heads)

50— Allium carolinianum ‘Rosy Beauty’ (pink, smaller heads)

100—Allium moly ‘Jeanine’ (yellow)


CAMASSIA

This is my first time growing camassia, so I don’t have any pictures of it to show you. Next year!

10—Camassia cusickii (sky blue)

10—Camassia leich caer ‘Blue Heaven’ (palest blue)

50—Camassia quamash ‘Blue Melody’ (violet blue)

These were some Dutch irises from my Washington garden. None of the varieties I planted are these exact colors, but the form will be the same. A little different than the large, ruffly bearded irises.

DUTCH IRIS

100—Iris ‘Alaska’: bright white, yellow blotches

100—Iris ‘Montecito’: white standards, yellow falls

100—Iris ‘Rosario’: pink

100—Iris ‘Silvery Beauty’: blue/white

100—Iris ‘Telstar’: violet/deep blue

This is not a great picture, but the pink lily in the back is ‘Elodie’, same as what I planted this weekend. It’s a pale pink with a few raspberry-colored freckles.

LILIES

5—Lily ‘Apricot Fudge’

5—Lily ‘Elodie’

5—Lily ‘Tiger Babies’

5—Lily Henryi ‘Lady Alice’: Reflexed, outward facing blooms (white with orange center)

5—Lily ‘Black Beauty’: Martagon (crimson red)


The grand total: 780 bulbs!

As you can tell, I really went big for Dutch irises and alliums this year. I put in the Dutch iris all along the garden fence, behind the daffodils I planted last year on the one side, then down where I tried to grow sweet peas on the other side. I’m hoping the foliage will help keep weeds down along there as well.

The alliums almost all went into my color-themed perennial beds in the garden proper. The blue ones I actually planted in the front corner flowerbed as a little surprise pop of blue.

Lilies—the red were added to the corner of my red/yellow/white flowerbed in the back corner. The others were planted on either end of the row along the garden fence, so they should all have some fence to support them as they grow. The average height they should grow to is 4’. Some said they could get as tall as 8’!

The camassia I interplanted amongst the poppies. They should bloom first, at the end of May, and again, I hope that their foliage will help keep weeds down and the keep the soil moist for the poppy seedlings until they get big enough on their own.

Planting bulbs always makes me excited for spring! As these are all late spring/early summer bloomers, I have got a long wait to go!

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