We have a terrible time keeping tulips growing here. We have a colony of chipmunks who think we put them out to provide gourmet meals for the darned critters! Seventeen years or so ago, Elegante Mother, Dear Husband and I made a trip to Holland, Michigan with Frankie and her family, for the Tulip Fest. We bought tons of tulip bulbs to decorate our (fairly) new gardens, and within two years, not a bulb was left! (Picture me pouting, here.)
At any rate, we managed to get some tulip blossoms this year, so I thought I’d share them before they disappeared. It the first picture below, the one yellow tulip is not a sport; rather I think it is the only tulip left of a dozen yellow tulips from the previous year.
I believe the short tulips in front are called “Angelique.” They have been with us for a couple of years. I keep waiting for them to disappear, but they may not be tasty to the chippies.
And these are the Darwin tulips, the only tulip we have ever found that rodents don’t disturb. These tulips are one of the earliest flowers to bloom in my gardens, beating out many of the daffodils. The color looks to be in the pink range here, but in full bloom, on a warm day, they tend to be more of a hot orangey-red.
Arrrgh!!!
It's just my state of mind!
Your gardens are lovely. I use to have tulips, think the moles got them, or we just never have enough moisture to get them going before it’s 100.
That hasn’t been the case the last five days, it’s been like a monsoon around here. (not complaining.. yet)!
I need to take a leaf from your (or Bogie’s) book on gardening – plant in masses. Beautiful!
I can comiserate, Janeywan, for both the tulips and for the rain, but like you I’m not complaining about the rain! We still need it.
Cop Car, The only place I’ve really planted in masses is where I have iris. They simply take over. I was careful in framing my shots. I tried to avoid pictures of the thistles that are growing in the front iris bed, along with several other unwanted plants. I think Bogie is wise to do mass plantings. Otherwise you have to put down landscaping fabric and a lot of mulch to keep the weed from taking over.
When the tulip greens die back, I’ll have a lot of open space I’ll have to weed, if I don’t find something with a shallow root system to plant over them.