As I dash around doing my late-day garden rounds, flashes of bright colour skim my peripheral vision, and though I know they are tulips which I planted with anticipatory passion last autumn, for a fleeting moment, I forget their identity and succumb to magical thinking that this swirl of pink, purple, peach, and white comprises a sentient presence of some sort. Garden fairies, perhaps? Here's hoping these shining, bright goblets of varied hues in our front garden bring respite to weary workers returning home via cars and buses rumbling past.
Purple Dream Lily-flowered Tulips were mostly dug up this past autumn during my planting for this season's tulip display, but a few escaped my spade and graciously made a reappearance, though with slightly faded and smaller blooms. If an impressive presentation is desired it is best for fresh tulip bulbs to be positioned each autumn. However, to get a few more seasons from your tulip investment, plant them in a bed away from the public eye so if the flowering is lacklustre, it at least won't have the spotlight but still be enjoyed. It's best to dig them up after the foliage died unless they are in an area that gets no summer irrigation as to prevent them from rotting. Store in a cool, dark place until needed.
Miss Elegance Triumph Tulip is a favourite choice of mine because of its midseason blooming, ruffled edges, and delicate shade of pink.
Next season I will showcase them in pots as their smaller stature would benefit from the loftiness provided by containers.
Dordogne Single Late Tulips have huge pink and apricot blooms on tall stems.
They look gorgeous cradled in the fresh, green growth of the lavender hedge.
The golden tones of Dordogne tulips complement the colour of Blue Parrot Tulips perfectly as they bloom at the same time. Next season, I am planning to plant them closer together.
I always wanted to recreate a horticultural scene glimpsed several decades ago when we lived in California and have retained in my visual memory since then. The sight of a lushly planted expanse of evergreen periwinkle sheltered from the heat in a shady spot had caught my eye because the small blue flowers sparkled with a silky sheen as if they were stars in a night sky, all cool and welcoming. Like many perennials, they took time to meet the challenge I presented to them, and now, about five years after their planting, the original five plants have made an area of about 150 cm (5 ft) by 300 cm (10 ft) their home. The blooms have been going for the last two months! Their glossy foliage forms a beautiful ground cover year round.
Lamium galeobdolan is another perennial case in point. Several years ago three plants were placed a few feet apart. They are now covering a much larger space. Like periwinkle, their long stems root into the soil. The spiraea is drooping over the lamium, the lamium is grazing the driveway's low wall, and sweet violets have self-seeded themselves in the angle between wall and driveway. Great show!
Ivy covering perimeter fences, shed, and pergola has been duly given its spring clipping. And yes, it is yet another perennial case in point. There were a few plants scattered here and there ten years ago upon our arrival, and now lots of eyesores are covered in calming dark green, giving the garden much needed 'green bones' and privacy. If those benefits weren't enough, its berries are an excellent source of winter food for birds. It does need around 3-4 clippings a year and watering during the dry season to do as well as it has.
À la prochaine!
RELATED POSTS
Book review: The Tulip by Anna Pavord
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| Also: Candytuft (Iberis sempervirens), Heuchera 'Stormy Seas', immature Lawson's cypress |
Purple Dream Lily-flowered Tulips were mostly dug up this past autumn during my planting for this season's tulip display, but a few escaped my spade and graciously made a reappearance, though with slightly faded and smaller blooms. If an impressive presentation is desired it is best for fresh tulip bulbs to be positioned each autumn. However, to get a few more seasons from your tulip investment, plant them in a bed away from the public eye so if the flowering is lacklustre, it at least won't have the spotlight but still be enjoyed. It's best to dig them up after the foliage died unless they are in an area that gets no summer irrigation as to prevent them from rotting. Store in a cool, dark place until needed.
Miss Elegance Triumph Tulip is a favourite choice of mine because of its midseason blooming, ruffled edges, and delicate shade of pink.
Next season I will showcase them in pots as their smaller stature would benefit from the loftiness provided by containers.
Dordogne Single Late Tulips have huge pink and apricot blooms on tall stems.
They look gorgeous cradled in the fresh, green growth of the lavender hedge.
The golden tones of Dordogne tulips complement the colour of Blue Parrot Tulips perfectly as they bloom at the same time. Next season, I am planning to plant them closer together.
I always wanted to recreate a horticultural scene glimpsed several decades ago when we lived in California and have retained in my visual memory since then. The sight of a lushly planted expanse of evergreen periwinkle sheltered from the heat in a shady spot had caught my eye because the small blue flowers sparkled with a silky sheen as if they were stars in a night sky, all cool and welcoming. Like many perennials, they took time to meet the challenge I presented to them, and now, about five years after their planting, the original five plants have made an area of about 150 cm (5 ft) by 300 cm (10 ft) their home. The blooms have been going for the last two months! Their glossy foliage forms a beautiful ground cover year round.
Lamium galeobdolan is another perennial case in point. Several years ago three plants were placed a few feet apart. They are now covering a much larger space. Like periwinkle, their long stems root into the soil. The spiraea is drooping over the lamium, the lamium is grazing the driveway's low wall, and sweet violets have self-seeded themselves in the angle between wall and driveway. Great show!
Ivy covering perimeter fences, shed, and pergola has been duly given its spring clipping. And yes, it is yet another perennial case in point. There were a few plants scattered here and there ten years ago upon our arrival, and now lots of eyesores are covered in calming dark green, giving the garden much needed 'green bones' and privacy. If those benefits weren't enough, its berries are an excellent source of winter food for birds. It does need around 3-4 clippings a year and watering during the dry season to do as well as it has.
À la prochaine!
RELATED POSTS
Book review: The Tulip by Anna Pavord
Dordogne is a lovely blend of colours.
ReplyDeleteStill haunted by my monster ivy, which yes, has its first ever berries ;~)
Each day the Dordogne blooms get bigger and bigger. They are enormous and so fabulous to have in the garden.
DeleteNow watch the ivy berries disappear into the beaks of birds. :-)
So the trick is to dig up the bulbs every spring and replant in the fall? I did not know that! Tulips were mostly a no show in my garden this year, not sure why. Your garden is gorgeous, enjoy!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I am really happy with how it turned out.
DeleteDigging up tulip bulbs after their foliage dies down and replanting them in the fall works better with some varieties than others. Darwin hybrids have the highest probability of coming back after one season. Based on my experience, others are more hit and miss. 'Apeldoorn' darwin hybrid does seem to be one of the more reliable returners. Digging up and storing over the summer lessens the chances of rotting, that's all. Most tulips really only look their best one season. Species tulips are another exception to this rule.
Rodents and rabbits are known to snack on tulip bulbs during the winter. Perhaps they ate your bulbs?
Tulip bulbs like to bake in the soil throughout the summer like their ancestors did in Turkey and Central Asia. So if summers are either mild or wet (or both), they won't thrive. It's hot enough during summer chez nous, but our garden gets irrigated.
Delete