Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Spring Bulbs and Sunrise Serenade...

Today I planted my two hundred spring bulbs. My fingernails have dirt under them. I have a vague recollection of where i planted them.
Daffodils and Narcissus, Crocus, Aliums, Snowdrops, and Hyacinth's..
It was hard trying to imagine the garden bare in winter to see where the spring bulbs will grow It was windy too so the labels kept blowing down the garden.
They are like magic beans. Jack planted them and grew a huge beanstalk in popular legend. I now have another reason to look forward to spring. To see how my 200 bulbs perform. Each one will be a suprise. I told Angela i have lost my notebook with plant list and position somewhere upstairs.
I can barely remember what i planted where.I hope they are obvious when they start pushing up from the soil.
Today the morning glory said farewell. I was concerned how dark it was under the arch. I trimmed a bit, then noticed hundreds of seed pods. The slow starting morning glory turned into a monster. It climbed up seven foot, wrapped every inch of metal with tendrils, sucked the soil dry of moisture where it was planted.
I saved some seeds but next year I want something dainty to grow up the arch, that lets the light through .Im thinking of honeysuckle on one side, and a clematis on the other. The seeds will be dried and packaged, then labelled.
Roy from Queensland said it is a vigerous weed in Australia. Seeing how long it took to take down from the arch I can see why. It has a creeping root that goes horizontally, and a vertical taproot. It held onto everything it could grasp. The cold yorkshire winter should end its dreams of world dominance. Its creeping cousin the bindweed still exists here. On GQT they said it was impossible to get rid of it. I know that after two years living with it. I just keep taking the top leafs off. Next doors garden is bindweed/nettle heaven and each year they invade through the fence. Each year I cut it down. But, its like a many headed hydra. You cut one off and thirty grow back!!
The rose bushes need spacing apart and turning because of the way they have grown. For £5 a bush they have been great performers.
The grass needs cutting, thats the only job left.Its getting colder outside now.I needed a jumper today as i was chilly.
Blogger wont let me add a picture of my busy lizzies chilling in the windowsill.They were grown from seeds but only 50% germinated.They are very colourful though for over wintering!!

7 comments:

Peggy said...

I've never been overly successful with Busy Lizzie germination. I just gave up a while ago and started buying plugs. Lazy, more expensive, but that's me . . .:-)

David (Snappy) said...

My busy lizzie cajun great balls of fire were brought in from the garden centre as small plants.The limiting factor for me in growing seeds is SPACE.My wife gets upset when the seed trays and mini pots start to take over the kitchen windowsills,tables, and work surfaces.Im dreaming about a greenhouse but they are soooooo expensive here.can dream though and maybe seedgrow a few plants..

OldRoses said...

Snappy, I used to have huge problems posting photos too. Then I switched to FireFox from Internet Explorer and haven't had a problem since. Try it!

lisa said...

Snappy, you sound deleriously exhausted in this post from all that bulb planting! The anticipation does make it all worthwhile, though! I gave up trying to mark my bulbs...usually I just wait til' spring and see what happens. For me in z4 spring's the best time to put in new plants, too...convenient since it's then I can see the bulbs and not plant over top of them. Some people make a regular practice of planting perennials actually on top of bulbs, or stacking bulbs atop one another at different depths in the same hole. I've never liked this idea...I just imagine crowding/nutrient hogging, as well as a perennial crown being pushed up too high where it might freeze out and die. But having never tried it, guess I shouldn't knock it.

David (Snappy) said...

Thanks Oldroses, i will try it when i have my new laptop...
Lisa, i was shattered by the end.The clay soil took its toll on me.The daffodils were a nightmare to get in.Six inches down!I can not layer levels of bulbs,Just one layer took a few hours.I planted bulbs under existing plants but i know that by January it will be a lot more sparse in the garden.

David (Snappy) said...

Hey Peggy I typed in second hand greenhouse, and one came up for £75.Waiting to hear from the seller.Six foot by eight foot.fingers crossed..could be serendipity!

Silvia Hoefnagels . Salix Tree said...

honeysuckle... it grows very thick in a few years time. I adore it though, the perfume is heavenly. Make sure the one you get has a scent!
hmm.. wonder if I can send a cutting through the mail? It would take a few years to grow to a proper size though...