The bulb catalogs are beguiling. Those luscious closeups of blooming bulbs are more enticing than any Halloween candy. Bulbs are 'crack' for gardeners. The bulb distributors know my name. Due to many past indulgences I am on their lists. It starts off so innocently with just a few bulbs but like anything which produces surprising satisfaction, the addiction grows. I say 'surprising' because it takes months for those preciously planted bulbs to produce color. That is long enough to forget that bulb planting is hard work.
I know I am not alone with this addiction. Carol of
May Dreams has planted close to 1,500 bulbs. Elizabeth of
Garden Rant and
Gardening while Intoxicated forces hundreds of bulbs each year in addition to those beautiful tulips she plants. She has over 1,000 bulbs this year. I owe the martagon lilies in the garden to her. Gail, of
Clay and Limestone, will be planting 1,000 'tommies' this fall. That is the affectionate name given to
Crocus tommasinianus, a very tiny bulb which produces some of the first flowers of the season. I have Gail to thank for alerting me to the charms of this little crocus.
Garden friends are like that. They help feed this healthy addiction. Many more of my blogging friends are planting bulbs this fall. I have 900 bulbs to plant. They are, for the most part, the little bulbs. I started planting this year with the English bluebells,
Hyacinthoides non-scripta. I have seen pictures of ancient English woods adrift with English bluebells. A swath of fragrant blue in the woodlands of grand estates. The English do know how to plant bulbs. I am not claiming to have a grand estate. There is no sign hanging at the end of the drive announcing 'Downton Abbey' or 'Dove Cottage'. Still, why didn't I start planting the bluebells years ago when life stretched endlessly in front of me?
Now, I have just a few decades left in which to achieve a carpet of blue under the pines. One has to start somewhere. I will have to settle for blue throw rugs in the pine woods along the drive.
That is if these little beauties decide to prosper here. How many bulbs have you ordered/planted this fall?