It's always very satisfying to spend time in Autumn planting bulbs for Spring blooms. The benefits are many: it's great to be outside, digging in the dirt, anticipating the welcome blooms after a long, bitter Winter. It's a way to ease my constant sense of grief after the deaths of my beloved parents and friends. The natural cycle of life is so well represented by bulbs- the seemingly lifeless bulbs hold the promise of beauty and joy to come. Knowing that they await, out-of-sight and unseen, for the right conditions to grow, brings a quiet comfort. Their glorious blooms signal the end of Winter, and the beginning of yet another growing season. They wither and return to the earth, but given the right conditions, return yet again the next season. All nature mimics this cycle- the returning leaves, seeds of all kinds, shapes and varieties. How reassuring!
Usually, I buy bulbs on sale (found a large variety of sale bulbs at Walmart last week) and plant them randomly, wherever I think I haven't planted some in previous years. This year, I've borrowed a technique from my friend, Becky,(check out her great blog stonewallgarden.blogspot.com) and tried making stone plant markers to remind me what's been planted, where. I painted some flat stones with white, latex, glossy paint, and wrote the bulb names on them with a permanent marker. My cats supervised my every move, and even jumped on my back and shoulders for a better vantage point as I worked in the garden..
4 comments:
Linda, It's always a pleasure to be linked with you my dear friend. I'm so sorry to hear about your Dad and I hope these nice days planting those bulbs that you love so much will help to ease your mind. I think when the spring flowers and Greenprints comes, it will be time to remind Pat of your 10th anniversary!
Hi, Becky! Thanks so much for your comment! It truly is comforting to get outside and work in the soil. My rocky ledge is randomly created as rocks and stones are unearthed; though not as well-crafted as Ed's, it's still an enjoyable process to fit pieces together. I'm hoping that the old cow watering basin will serve as a bird bath next Summer. I usually plant daffodils because they seem to be left alone by squirrels and such, but so many great tulips were on sale that I splurged! A friend suggested I crush mothballs and add to the dirt as I plant tulips to thwart pests, but that doesn't seem organically sound. Any suggestions?
Ed would put down something like hardware cloth or chicken wire over the area. It should be larger than the area where the bulbs are planted.Some critters might still tunnel in from the side. He made a wire box with a lid and buried it with bulbs inside for some of my special bulbs that had been getting eaten every winter.
I was planting bulbs in the October snow that hit us here in western Mass. I'd been waiting and waiting for the "first hard morning frost."
I just tried to add myself as a follower and something went awry... will try again.
Kitty
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