Bulbs are one of my favorite parts of the garden, particularly in the first few months of the year. Planted under the surface of the soil you have no idea whether they are growing or not and then they are forgotten, particularly if planted in prior years. Until like a nice surprise they appear as if from no where and you remember you planted them. I often think of them in my work since each year they almost die and everything that is messy on the surface is cut away and then they come back in the new year refreshed and clean. Sometimes in organizations we need to do that sort of clean cut.

I planted a variety of bulbs in late December and January. These in February have started to show up. In my first blog I had talked about freesias today I will talk about some of the other bulbs in my garden.

Daffodils (Narcissus) are on of my favorites and come in all sorts of kinds. I have a mix of Daffodil and paperwhite form. They are really low maintenance and what is good is they not only come back each year, but multiply. Bulbs linked to the first bulb grow underground and form clumps. To date I have for the most part kept these clumps together, but in a few pots when I have repotted the soil it gives a chance to split up the clumps and therefore allow them to spread. Even for those who doubt SoCal has a winter Daffodils are a reminder that we do (even if you have to really look carefully to see the weather change).

I have planted some hyacinths in a pot which have come out. They have a nice scent and in a relatively cool part of the garden they seem to okay.

“He has made everything beautiful its its time…yet they can’t fathom what God has done from beginning to end” Ecc 3:1

I also planted around 20 Gladioli and also remembered as they started to come up some from last year. Last year I did not plant them deep enough and also planted them all at the same time. This year I have tried to plant them deeper (2 inches) and also spread out over 4 weeks. They have all started to emerge and have a bright green reed with a red shoot at the bottom.

Gladioli are great additions to a garden and give some height and colour to gardens.

Other bulbs I have planted are bearded iris. I have a lot that have spread slowly in one part of the garden. I have no idea what they are, but they are very happy and have a nice purple and yellow flower. I also planted a few mini iris this year and they have come up nicely

The last bulbs I have planted are Liatris (blazing star). Last year I had not much success and this could have been due to a lack of sun where I planted them so this year I am trying them in a full sun area. I have had three come up so we will see

I think I have bored you enough with my blog on bulbs. I do encourage you to plant them they just make a nice surprise each year when you remember that you planted them there last year or as you discover what they were.