Monday, March 17, 2008

They're Everywhere

I'm starting to get just a little scared. They won't stop coming up! Every time I look there are more.

















I saw this big batch covering a section of hillside across the street. My collection of borrowed bulbs just keeps getting bigger. More Daffodils, more Crocus, more Mountain Hyacinth, the Hyacinthoides hispanica. The larger Alliums are beginning to add to this crescendo and the summer Asiatic Lilies are yet to come.













My own bulbs that came mostly from the kindness of internet strangers are just now putting on some heft. It seems freshly planted fall bulbs may be slower to appear than those that have been in the ground for a while. The Tulips from Elizabeth at GardenRant survived the winter and evaded the voles in their cage of netting. These are my first ever in my entire gardening life, own personal Tulips. Florida and Hawaii do not lend themselves to such things, except by forcing, and when the whole world is green outside, why bother.

I bet the crazy bulb lady started with just a few bulbs too.















I found more Crocus down the road and across the street by the mailbox. Maybe someone planted them, maybe not.
















There was actually a nice stretch of days before the Bloom Day storm and more rocks were stacked on the wall. It's getting there. I think this second wall is looking much nicer.













But down by my little cabin to be, instead of tens of thousands of bulbs popping up through the ground it is looking more like a case of the measles.













"Ohhhh noooooooooooooo ..."


















Through sleet and snow and wind and rain, these Scarlet Elf Cups just keep on hanging on.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Scared? Don't you mean THRILLED? :) (And by your reckoning, the big show is still a week away, right? Nice!)

I love that those are called "Scarlet Elf Cups." What a great name.

Mr. McGregor's Daughter said...

Hey, it beat the heck out of Kudzu.

Christopher C. NC said...

Kim the peak bloom according to the crazy bulb lady should be about the second week of April. The anticipation is terrible, but I imagine it will just slowly build over time. Now I am getting scared to walk across the mountain cause I'll step on something good.

Kudzu, we got Kudzu, about two curves down the road. Something to keep an eye out for.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

What fun all of those bulbs are. I don't blame you for being scared to step because of smashing those lovely little plants.

Your second wall does look a little neater. I guess it shows that practice makes perfect.

chuck b. said...

How thrilling to have all this plant material to work with!

lisa said...

Heh...so you won't be the "Sluggo" smashing the "Mr. Bill" tulips? How thoughtful of you! It does my heart good to see that your "hills are alive" when my green is all covered in white. Even though your new climate takes some adjusting to, I think my shorter growing season would be more unsettling. (Heh, and interior Alaska would make your head explode! I saw one Alaskan using brown-painted chest freezers (lids replaced with glass) for insulated cold-frames. Now THAT'S season-extending determination!)

Annie in Austin said...

First ever personal tulips....two thoughts on that.
1) I hope they live up to your expectations, Christopher!
2) I said farewell to a garden full of tulips in spring of 1999. Maybe I'd better look into the species tulips MSS/Zanthan grows, so those IL bulbs do not become my last ever personal tulips.

Just the leaves coming up in your photos look wonderful, even without flowers. Hyacinthoides and allium, too - should be amazing!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose