Tulips On Display
Hello friends,
Just thought I'd share with you some of the tulips flowering in the garden at the moment. Sorry about all the weeds in the background of the photos, but it's a busy time of the year, and sometimes weeding needs to come second to repotting seedlings, and planting out the last of my dahlias...
First we have the lighter tulip shades, and I'm really loving the double and frilly ones.
Next up are the mid pinks and purples. These ones aren't very tall, maybe I planted the bulbs too low in the ground last autumn.
And lastly are the new dark purple varieties. The frills on the flower edges are just so unusual.
They are all just so pretty, flowering after the daffodils have finished, and already the peonies are above ground and forming flower buds. I can't wait to see my new peony varieties flowering soon, but for now I'm enjoying the tulips.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Daffodil Days
Hello friends,
With high spring now upon us, I took some time to photograph the daffodils flowering in my garden at the moment.
First up are my favorite daffodils, the Tete-a-Tete varieties. I'm now especially fond of the double variety I bought last autumn, Tete Boucle, and I would like to grow some more of them in the garden.
Next are the white daffodils, which I'm becoming more and more obsessed with recently.
And lastly we have the large, yellow varieties. Some of the lemon and double varieties are just beautiful, including the delicate daffodil Mother Duck.
Daffodils are just such a happy and bright reminder at the beginning of spring that sunnier and warmer days are on their way. I'm so pleased that I invested in hundreds of daffodils a couple of years ago, and spent all that time planting them in the ground in autumn, because my garden now has a brilliant burst of colour in early spring.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Planting Tulips
Hello friends,
A little while ago I did an online order for garlic bulbs to plant this autumn, and while I was on the Bulbs Direct website buying those, I had a chance to peruse their other spring bulb collections. I've already completely filled our garden with daffodil bulbs, but other spring bulb plants are few and far between.
A couple of weeks later a package arrived from Bulbs Direct, and I had four new varieties of tulips to plant, including Katinka, Kickstart, Marvel Parrot, and Purple Sky. In shades of purples and pinks, these tulips will brighten up my front garden in spring.
The day the Bulbs Direct package arrived, I pulled out my trusty bulb planter, and got to work in the front garden.
I decided to plant each bulb variety in a clump together to really give a big floral punch of colour in various part of the front garden. The tulips will greet us every time we enter or exit our property, and they'll look great from the street too.
Now there is nothing to do but wait over winter and into spring for my new tulip bulbs to make their way above ground. It'll be something to look forward to over the coming dark and cold winter months.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
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Sowing Ranunuculus Seeds
Hello friends,
Three weeks ago I finally got around to sowing the ranunculus seeds I bought from Bud & Bloom back in January. The seeds don't germinate in hot weather, so I had to wait until late March when we start to get cooler mornings.
I pulled out my new seed sowing tray protector and got to work. I'm so pleased that I invested in buying it earlier this year, as it cuts down on mess big time, and it's so much easier to sow seeds.
I sowed one seed per cell, and gently covered each ranunculus seed with vermiculite as suggested in the instructions that came with the seeds. I gave them a good watering and stored all the seed trays undercover in the woodshed where it is cool for most of the day.
Now came the patiently waiting part, as ranunculus are notoriously slow at germinating, usually taking 2 - 3 weeks to germinate. Each day I checked on the seed trays and kept the vermiculite damp.
Two weeks after seed sowing, a single ranunculus seedling popped it's head above the vermiculite, and then another and another over the next few weeks.
Quite a few seedlings have come up now, and they are slowly growing in their seed sowing cells. Over the coming weeks they'll grow their underground root systems, and then as the weather gets even cooler, the plants will grow more leaves. I can't want to see lots of ranunculus plants flowering in spring this year.
Have a wonderful day
Julie-Ann
Want to discuss my post? Feel free to chat with me on Instagram or Mastodon or Bluesky.
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