Today was bulb planting day. A freezing day, the first day of winter in fact, but the sun was shinning.
I'd been chilling my flower bulbs in the fridge for the last 4 weeks & they were now ready to plant.
I had various helpers with me today. While getting everything together & organised I had baby girl. Little boy helper helped briefly & then told me he didn't want to help anymore & wanted to watch Pingu. Then baby girl went for her nap & Siamese cat stayed with me for the rest of the time. A bit of time with everyone.
I had 8 tulip bulbs, 3 daffodil bulbs & 3 little pots.
Baby girl tried to eat the daffodil packet for a second there!
Baby girl gone, enter Siamese cat. I found him sleeping in my climbing rose pot.
I couldn't decide which flower to put in what pot. Decided on 3 tulips in the long terracotta pot, the 5 remaining tulips in the round terracotta pot & the 3 daffodils in the glazed pot.
Siamese helper basically sleeping. Not a very good helper.
This is my first time planting bulbs. From my research I've learned that you can grow them in pots, you can bunch them together somewhat, you have got to get them in before the winter & they benefit from a good 4-6 weeks of chilling in your fridge. Once the spring comes they just need the rise in temperature & sun & out the flowers come.
I planted them a couple of bulbs deep & covered them with good quality potting mix.
And here they are, all sleeping inside their pots just waiting for the magic of spring. Just typing about spring makes me feel warm & happy & I can just smell the tomato leaves & roses. My favourite season.
Put the glazed pot with the daffodils here between my rose & coffee plant.
And the tulips I put on my other balcony. One next to my oregano & owl. It's supposed to scare off possums. Yeah, right!
Put the Rest of the tulips in between my parsley & standard fuschia.
And then watered them all in.
Done.
Can't wait for spring. So many wonderful things to look forward to this year. Tulips & daffodils. New maple leaves on my 3 Japanese maples. New flowers on my fuchsia plants. Yellow, antique pink & apricot roses (they will not be eaten by possums this spring, even if I have to cover them with a blanket every night! I will have roses this spring!!) & another season of tomatoes. If I'm lucky I might get some peaches from my dwarf tree this summer & maybe even some coffee beans from my coffee plant.
But now is the time of quiet & cold. Hurry up & pass winter.
Stay warm gardeners,
Bel
