Garden Tip September 2011

 

Gardening idea for the month of September 2011

It is time to start planning to plant your spring flowering  bulbs. When you think of spring flowers you think of Crocus, hyacinth, and tulips, daffodils, just to name a few.

For best flowering, store them in a paper bag in the crisper section of your refrigerator (away from apples) for at least six weeks before planting.

As you select your flowering bulbs to plant this fall, keep in mind that larger caliber bulbs give big, showy displays, but cost more. Smaller caliber bulbs usually are less expensive, with a smaller show, but are great for brightening nooks and crannies in your yard.

As you plant your spring bulbs, remember that a mass planting of one flower type or color will produce a better effect than a mixture of many colors. Flowers of bulbs stand out more vividly if displayed against a contrasting background.

We all like to see the first signs of spring in the new year, that way we all know that long winter is over and the new season begins. Even if you can only plant a few bulbs for the next year, do so, you will not be sorry.

Of course flowers are not part of Food Storage, the the hope and seeing them can brighten anyones day. This is a good thing especially after a very long and cold winter.

Do check with your area zone maps to see when is the best time to plant the bulbs in your area.

Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature.  ~Gerard de Nerval

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
~William Wordsworth, "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," 1804