"OK, Time to Confess, Bulbs Part III: Spring Cometh"

And here is a nice blurrry frontal picture of this project before I tore out the old, sick plants.
Anybody need fill dirt?

kenton, please remember not to buy brugs.

i'll catch up later. did you say NARC? don't say it too loud. lol.

brb.

"Nark."
I figure the way Brugs are propagatable, I should be able to trade for some. The brug forum is huge and a bit intimidating. I currently have cuttings of 'Charles G.' and 'Frosty Pink' (-yuck, but beggars ain't choosers, eh?)

I have not grown one in full, hot CO sun yet, I hope it will work. (same goes for non-hardy Musa nd Ensete.)

Also to add is my zone. This strip is a microclimate of at least 8 as far as the ground is concerned. (Thus the palms... It has never frozen, and Gladiolus have overwintered that were just sitting on top of the dirt.
Kenton

Ed. to add that the close Brug. relation Datura does very well here, Annapet

This message was edited Jan 4, 2006 10:37 PM

Kenton, whatever you do there, I have no doubt it will be stunning. And I've got zone envy...

Oh, come on, give me your ideas! Even if it is "Whoah, that's too much stuff for a small area."

I'm really bad at suggesting things by looking at a picture. I really am! Now if I were standing there in your yard, I might be able to give you a couple of ideas. I don't know what the difference is, but usually I'm the one asking for ideas, because I'm terribly uncreative!

Well, what are you going to put in your bright lights garden? I'm also brainstorming some garden art, but the area is not too conducive to it...

I actually was starstruck by Walmart's new seed displays last weekend. Cosmos, zinnias, nasturtiums, sunflowers, marigolds, african daisies and there is already one lily planted there... ;-)

A friend planted a strip like that. She had the shortest plants at the front and at the very back, with intermediate and taller-sized plants in the middle. In that way, she was able to see all the great plants that passers-by saw from the street, but from her house, also.
Of course, now I realize that was in the days when folks just made rows and were not creative about garden bed shapes. I love the tip I got about using a garden hose to lay out a bed, moving the hose around until you like the shape. Then you spray paint the ground next to the hose and voila! you have the shape you want to dig out and prepare for plants.

oh, wow. kenton, photos please!

kylee, i have to go across the pond for a wal-mart =(. 45 minutes away.

yesterday, as i was raking leaves, i thought about taking photos of my yard for the BEFORE look. but it's all a mess. construction debris. plywood. rebars. ACK. it's just yucky. then black unappealing nursery pots. perhaps i'll wait.

but i'm super excited about the bulbs coming up!

and this time of year....bareroot roses! woo-hoo. i planted 50 (it just happened that way) in 2005, my first year. lol.

betty, i'll try that hose thing one of these days.

Most stores are that far away for me, too, Moonglow, but we have a Walmart about 20 minutes away, thank goodness!

Kenton, plans for your front yard sound great, and plant list is super. All I would add are caladiums to be used as "filler", mixing taller varieties with short ones. Don't ask me for names, don't know them that well.

I myself buy Miss Muffet and last fall bought the rubra, which is a black one with red markings. Also, what about a dwarf canna? But there are tall, med and dwaft to satisfy your height requirements. I like dwarf because in my area you don't see it so much.

Are you gonna have room for all that stuff??? LOL



PS: hey! what is wrong with CG and Frosty Pink? I love those! And like people said here, do not buy any brugs. There will be gazillion people in the brug forum to enable this addiction.

Annapet, "Before" Pictures are best with the trash showing! Isn't that more realistic?

Betty, I think The bed will keep it's current shape; strait lines meeting at a rounded end; organic curvilinear lines dominate my back yard. (-where I used the hose technique to its fullest when laying rock.) That tall-to-short scheme has been called "School Picture" and "Stadium Seating." The bed is fairly shallow but long, so I think big things will go on the ends, leaving a shorter section in the middle.

Vossner, I think I will use Caladiums as a color-foil for the Hostas and such in the shade garden. My eyes burn on C. 'Gingerland.' I suppose I owe you something, now eh?
Cannas species/cvs: musafolia, indica, 'Tropicanna' and 'Red King Humbert.'
Nothing is wrong with Brug. 'Charles Grimaldi,' but I don't care for pink. I forgot to mention I have ordered 'Jamaican Yellow,' and a friend has promised me a peice of 'Miner's Claim' that she has ordered. I think that color limitations keep me from going more than 80% nuts for Brugs at this time.

I think I'm still missing out on summer bulbs somehow...
Kenton

Ed. to add:
I will be out of town for a couple days, but I am taking "the project" with me, Kylee. It's getting fun.

This message was edited Jan 6, 2006 12:01 AM

Kenton, please don't buy brugs !! I have traded for and bought cuttings of so many new varieties for this Spring. I have a couple doubles of cream, 2 different cuttings of Herrenhauser Garten (triple orange that tends to be persnickety) a few other peaches, yellows and a double white and a triple white. In addition to all of those I have some of the most gorgeous pinks. The only thing I am missing is a double pink. I have bid several times on EBay but I just can't bring myself to buy them at over $150 per plant. (Yes, some went for over $200) Yes, I was bitten quite severely by the brug bug. In addition to the brugs, I bought seeds for Iochroma, a sister to brugs. These are supposed to be bright blue. That might be a pretty addition to your garden. They ,make a small tree/shrub. Go investigate and let me know if you would like a couple seeds. The blooms are small 2-3 inches but intense in color from what I have seen.
Your garden strip sounds interesting. I love cannas. I recently added tropicana varigated. It has beautiful gold, green and orange foliage. I also bought Stuttgardt. True white and green foliage. Very fragile in strong sun, the white temnds to fry. I bought one other that has deep purply black foliage, just can't remember her name. Friends gave me City of Portland, President, Cleopatra and Red dazzler. I know I have a couple others but cannot remember their names right now. I love cannas for their foliage, even though many of them have very pretty flowers.
Are you putting any lilies in the strip ? Which ones ? What about lantana ? There are so many colors and I love their hardiness. They self seed, so they are always growing and blooming. Very invasive, though. For a low growing burst of color they work nicely. How about phlox , foxglove, monarda and columbine? All the colors in the rainbow. I have some black hollyhock seeds ?
Now you have my head whirling. There is so much to choose from for Spring. I love color !!
Good luck with your planning. Make pictures as you go, we all want to watch your garden grow !!
God bless, Margo

Kenton, you're really getting my curiosity going!! Especially since I don't know what one it is you're doing. ;-)

I don't like pinks much either, in flowers. I don't hate them, but they aren't my favorites. For example, when I bought zinnia seeds the other day, NO PINKS!!! Just white, green, red, and yellow. I love giant zinnias and can't wait to grow these!

I love zinnias also! They are the most "determined to grow" flower that I have grown. They reseed themselves generously also. I bought a mixed packet last year and they looked very pretty growing under a couple of peach and yellow brugs that I had kept pruned as small trees. This year I want to undergrowth a few with coleus. God bless, Margo

double pink? you'll have at least 2 by mid-year. i'll try not to kill them, margo.

didn't get to take photos, but gardened all afternoon again. wow, two days in a row feels like spring to me.

keeping myself busy with my roses while waiting for the bulbs to bloom!

Ohhhhh AnnaPet, thank you so very much ! You sure know how to brighten my days ! I am so excited, wheeee :)) What can I look for to trade with you ? Are you looking for any certain roses ? or bulbs ? Sure wish my Costco would get their J & P Roses and their Spring bulbs...I have gone bulb crazy :))
Big hugs coming your way, Thank you so much, Love you, Margo

Vossner,

I got my order from easytogrowbulbs.com and omg they are HUGE. Thanks!!

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Attention boys and girls, Costco has unloaded their spring and summer bulbs! The stock is UNTOUCHED when I got to it. Well, it's not even on the selling floor yet....

=)

OK, time to confess--

I am a little upset that there are so few bulb flower photo winners in the Photo Contest (that I can find, anyway)! Although I do think there are so many beautiful pics of daylilies, hostas, gardens, trees, brugs and everything else. But I am a big prostelitizer for spring bulbs . :-)

I did see 9kittymom's wonderful spring tulip picture

http://davesgarden.com/contest/2005/image.php?rid=4641

and many Congratulations for posting and winning, kittymom!,

and I think that is it....

didn't you all vote for any bulb pics?!? Or did I miss some other 'bulbalaceous' winners?

So, I am a little piqued this morning...but I suppose I will get over it. Next year I will be sure to enter my photos (which I confess I did not do) and I wish/hope every other bulb gardener will, too! And Vote, too. :-)

Well, now I have to go outside and see if any are coming up early. Aren't the snow drops supposed to be blooming soon?

Have a great day. t.

Tabasco, sorry you were piqued. The best remedy for getting over is to go online and check out the new spring/summer bulbs. They're out! lol But now that you mentioned it, a bulb category is needed (or maybe a subcategory under flowers)

Anywho, alm, I am so glad you are happy with your bulbs from easy to grow. It was Tabasco who first tipped me to them.

As Annapet mentioned, spring/summer bulbs are slowly creeping into the box stores. I went to Walmart yesterday and they have a very nice selection of glads, not just your non-descript mix. They also had some lilies, canna, calla (other than white) and caladiums.

oh, t. i had gorgeous bulb photos but didn't enter either. why don't we enter this year? this is now officially a campaign.

nery, i'm going back for another costco expedition.

=)

you are too cute. Happy shopping

The Lowe's near me has their bulbs now too!

Hi all! Been having DSL difficulties, so occasionally I've been able to stay online long enough to look at a few posts before getting booted off, but any time I tried to post a reply, no go. Very frustrating for a blabbermouth like me! LOL

Kenton, I agree with Margo that some Asiatic lilies would be great early summer color for your project. And some of the Orienpets are very unusual, muted, earthy colors you may appreciate. What a great, clean slate you have to work with to. I'm a rose-a-holic, so naturally roses came to my mind on the fence. And if that Frosty Pink brug makes your eyes bleed, I'll happily give it a good home LOL.
Neal.

neal, i think i'll still choose my roses over brugs. thank goodness i don't have to.

planted more daffodils today:

replete
tahiti
orangerie
winston churchill
flower drift
blonde beauty.

i think they are all doubles.

potted up 2 wild blue yonder (grandflora of the year) from costco. oh, i'm so happy! the roses at my costco were virtually untouched. but i know they've been there right before christmas.

nery, perhaps i'll hold off on the bulbs. found $2 off coupons per bag. 10 bag limit. feb 6-12 though. that's ok. i have more daffs to plant, and i should take care of them before january ends.

i've had too much tea today.