Gardener's Diary - Bulb Anxiety and Erratic Weather
Spring is very much springing
It’s been very changeable weather this week. Should I wear long sleeves, short sleeves, sun lotion or waterproofs?
It was my birthday on Wednesday and rather rudely, it rained all day. It also rained heavily during the night and I was woken by the sound of thick rain drops falling upon the ground and tapping at the window.
The next morning before opening the curtains, for a brief moment, I enjoyed the blissful stillness which comes after heavy rainfall.
I used to really dislike working after the rain had fallen - the rain wetting all of my clothes and tools, however, now I’ve learnt to treasure damp mornings.
The birds sing apprehensively in the trees and there is a heavy silence - I can almost hear the drops clinging to the leaves.
As I brush by the plants, rain drops grab my waterproofs and there is a lovely feeling which is hard to put into words - it feels like I’m deep in nature and its peaceful.
Tulip Anxiety
When I plant out the bulbs in November, I feel anxious for the display in April. Ahead of time, I must envisage how the display might appear and factoring in when other bulbs will be flowering. I’m keen to avoid a jumble of foliage and poorly placed flowers, yet this year, I feel quite pleased with myself.
Sue Stuart Smith says in ‘The Well Gardened Mind’ that “ To look after a garden involves a kind of getting to know that is always somehow in process”. This encapsulates my thinking, it takes me time to find my place in a garden, to work out how it grows and what it needs.
This bulb display below really came into itself this year, after two years of labour in this garden. A showering of forget me nots, muscari, Tulipa ‘Lily Claudia’ as well as species tulips, Tulipa clusiana….although certainly, more forget me nots would have been welcome!
Species tulips
My favourite type of tulip is a species tulip - Tulipa saxatilis, Tulipa turkestanica, Tulipa clusiana and Tulipa hageri. They repeat well each year and will naturalise if they are happy in the space - what joy :-)
A few bulb considerations for the future:
I will plant more than I deem necessary of bulbs - the more the merrier.
I will include tulips in more container displays.
I will use more species tulips, muscari, Narcissus ‘tete a tete’ and forget me nots as they create such wonderful harmony - different textures and colours jostling for position. The muscari heads hand on for sometime creating beautiful silhouettes too.
I will also write a newsletter about my recent visit to Great Dixter, however in the meantime, feast your eyes on this stunning bulb display.
Garden highlights
Let’s start with this stunning Choisya x dewitteana 'White Dazzler'. It flowers in Spring and is best pruned after flowering and can flower a few times through summer.
Oh Euphrobia wulfenii….it certainly has been a good year for the Euphorbia, flowering from March to May with bright alien like flower heads - completely eccentric!
Ceonothus - it has a short life, estimated to live between 10-15 years, loves a south facing sheltered position and flowers in spring to late summer, depending on the cultivar in flower.
Bergenia! This is Bergenia cordifolia bought from Great Dixter, a little species however will spread via rhizomes and fill up the front of the border as a charming edge plant.
Wisteria floribunda, oh so floriferous and forever stopping my in my tracks. It takes me a while to get anywhere this time of year, having to stop and awe at the gorgeous displays of lilac flowers climbing up over front door porches and fastidiously trained up walls of houses. Floribunda is particularly special as has longer sprays of flowers and has a more waterfall-like appearance in mass.
Take a look at my lovely birthday scissors from my partner - perfect for cutting string when tying in roses :-)
Thank you for reading :-) If you’re enjoying these newsletters and feel like supporting them, becoming a paid subscriber would mean a lot - only if it’s within your means <3
tulip joy! and such a joy to read :) 🌾