COMGA

Sunday, March 8, 2015

The Big Box Stores are such teasers!

It's early March and they're starting to put out the plants. Oooooo, fill the trunk! Find the trowel, it's 65 degrees, I'm ready to plant!!!

It's tough to resist, but I know our nights are still dipping down to the low 30s and may go into the low 20s once or twice before our traditional planting date in late May.  So I'm compensating by planting bulbs.

The store and shippers like to call them "Spring Bulbs" but they're actually spring planting bulbs, summer bloomers. My Spring Blooming Bulbs were planted last fall and are starting to show up now.

There's nothing wrong with these summer blooming bulbs and rhizomes, though I learned years ago that I'm an absent-minded gardener who can't seem to remember to dig up my dahlias in the fall before they freeze (and die) so I avoid them. And the Caladiums look so bright and happy in my shade garden but we're trying to minimize our water use, so they'd get too dry in our yard. (And I'd have to dig them up in the fall, too).

 But I don't despair! Once again, with a little research I have found summer blooming bulbs that can withstand our cold winters and are actually pretty deer resistant ("resistant", not deer-proof, of course):
Asiatic Lilies    &   Crocosmia


In my garden, the deer can't seem to find the Asiatic Lilies since they don't have a scent (a real negative if you must have that intoxicating aroma) and the Crocosmia must taste bad since they ignore it.  But the hummingbirds think it's candy! The sight of the little hummers visiting each blossom makes time (and weed pulling) stand still while I watch. The strappy leaves don't look too bad either once the blooms finish.

It's Sunday afternoon and 60 degrees out - time to garden! I hope I've inspired you to shop for some Summer Flowering Bulbs.