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
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
posted by Donna Vignocchi at
2:51 PM
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