MAY FLOWERS...and lots of them

I am a self confessed bulb fanatic. There is nothing that makes me feel happier and well with the world than hundreds of daffodils and tulips lighting up the yard, accented by ornamental trees and shrubs. This year the show is breathtaking, or so that is what my neighbors tell me, so it MUST be true.

Tulips are my mother’s favorite flower, but I have an affection for the natural look of mass daffodil plantings. They remind me of my childhood. Growing up in a gardening family in Riverwoods, you had to make peace with the fact that deer will eat anything if they are hungry enough, especially tulips. So my mother populated our yard with them. When I recently asked her how many she thought she originally planted; I was surprised by the reply. She told me that she started with very few compared to the thousands we had when we moved. Every few years, after giving them time to multiply naturally, she would divide them. She found that if she didn’t they would peter out and begin to die back. What a tip!

I certainly have my share of varieties to divide: Marieke (a huge yellow favorite), miniature Tete-a-Tetes, Fortissimos huge yellow bells with orange throats, and a new one called Pink and Lemon. The house has had full vases for weeks!

Tulips are something I will not deny myself, however I’m not as passionate as my mother. Now that she is no longer a Riverwoods resident, she plants them with reckless abandon! I prefer my tulips in more formal settings…someplace where they would look uncontrived. Because tulips tend to loose their steam over the years I replace mine annually. This year I tried a blend of purple, lavender and a French purple with white margins from a wonderful company we use. Unfortunately they no longer carry it so I’ll take lots of photos to remember them!

What has been a pleasant surprise is the Tulip ‘Apricot Beauty’ I planted in my front entrance beds three years ago. After their first show, we made the decision to fill in the beds with pachysandra, but neglected to dig up the tulips. The next year we were amazed when a few dozen of our original 200 popped their gorgeous heads up. They have done so consistently since then.

Right next to the tulips are Dicentra spectabilis (Bleeding Heart). The two arch towards each nestled under a blooming Malus ‘Snowdrift’ (Snowdrift Crabapple). I didn’t plan it that way, but it has turned out to be one of my favorite moments of the entire season.

How my yard explodes with blooms really epitomizes spring, or so I like to think. It is evidence of what nature is capable of with a little patience, like my mother waiting for just the correct time to divide her daffodils, solid planning and some luck, like my surprise tulips. I’m constantly humbled by it.

Photo: Narcissus ‘Marieke’

NEXT WEEK: THE VEGETABLE GARDEN

Tulipano

May 5, 2009

APRIL SHOWERS
I’m so grateful for the sunshine! With all of the rain I was beginning to think I would never experience the way a bright sunny day makes you feel. Your step is a little quicker, you smile with ease and my favorite, and you pause as you arch your face up to the sun and enjoy the warmth on your face.

Now that the rain has stopped I can get outside and see what, if any, damage it has caused my garden. You see, our property sits at the lowest point on our subdivision. Therefore all of the rainwater drains through our property; creating a river seemingly as wide as the Nile during downpours and prolonged precipitation. Although we have created swales to ease pooling, I’m afraid that Mother Nature tends to win out more often than I would like.

Trying to combat what the environment wants to do is an uphill battle I’m no longer willing to fight; it’s frustrating and expensive. I’ll share a lesson I’m reminded of this week as I check on my prized ‘Brunnera ‘Jack Frost.’ I remember carefully planning its current location so that it would be delicately nestled into Vinca ‘Dart’s Blue’ groundcover along with Narcissus ‘Marieke.’ My father always tells me that what really works in landscapes is when the end result looks as though it has always been there, and with this plan I was shooting for original installation…beginning of time.

I remember waiting for the spring show my combination would give; cheerful yellow and pale blue flowers hovering over a blanket of blue blooming groundcover. Well for those of you that are familiar with Brunnera, which I wasn’t before I planted it, it hates sitting in water. So needless to say, there was no spring show. All of my Brunnera had died! Of course, I’m stubborn and think that with enough will, it will survive. I’ve replaced the doomed Brunnera several times over. Each time I think, “It’s sure to take off this time!” Today, three very puny plants remain and every time I check on them I’m reminded that in life, you can’t always have what you want. Especially when you are dealing with living things!

The area where “the river runs through it” needs some additional work this year as I continue to figure out what plants will not only fit the design aesthetic but the environment. I’ve had success with Astilbe ‘Bridal Veil,’ Heuchera ‘Palace Purple,’ and a couple varieties of Hosta (the bed is near the street so bunnies tend not to congregate and nibble them up).

Because of our water problem we’ve been forced to try things I normally would shy away from. The Vinca was struggling in overly wet spots and instead of pulling it all up and installing something else, which seemed wasteful; we tried to fill in with a plant that was already thriving near there…Sedum kamtschaticum, the toughest perennial I’ve ever worked with. It’s true this plant has an amazing show when it blooms yellow, but I love it for its unique fall color…pink, rust, light green. It is to die for.

Last year we filled in some bare spots with Sedum and it took off; so we’ll be filling in more washed out areas this year. It’s strange because what we have now has varied quite a bit from my original “perfect” plan. I’m usually a fan of less is more, but the two groundcovers mingled up with a few different varieties together create something really eclectic and beautiful. Something, that strangely enough looks as though it has always been there.

Image: My puny Brunnera 'Jack Frost', Narcissus 'Marieke' and Vinca 'Darts Blue'

Next Week: MAY FLOWERS and lots of them