Thursday, September 25, 2008

Got Drought? Get Bulbs!

It makes sense. You plant bulbs in the fall, forget about them all winter and they will surprise you in spring – regardless of the weather they have endured in the intervening months.

I would not, however, have ordered more bulbs this year if I had not been at Jeannette Coplin’s xeriscape gardening class at the State Botanical Garden in Athens on Tuesday. Bulbs are among her favorite aspects of a xeriscape garden and, like I just wrote, it makes sense! So, I came home, retrieved a bulb catalog I had received a few weeks ago, picked out some choices, filled our the order form, wrote a check, and sent it in!

Typically, even though I grew up in “the land of tulips” (guess . . . .!), I am not enamored of bulbs. They are O.K., and I have lots of daffodils in my garden already, but their short blooming time does not recommend them to me. And tulips in the Deep South? That’s never been a good choice, in my opinion. Still, tulips are among the more than 100 bulbs I have just ordered. Alliums and hyacinths also, and even some lilies. I’ll plant them as soon as they arrive and I’ll let you know next spring how it all turned out.

1 comment:

Lya Sorano said...

Oh, I forgot to add that the Botanical Garden has a plant sale on October 4. Scroll down to the bottom of this blog, click on "Friends of the Garden" and look for details.

I'll be there. Looking for Gaura for my own garden and for a Buddleia for my friend Katja. My gardener / writer / photographer / blogger friend Catherine may be there as well.