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gardens & polka dots

gardens & polka dots

Tag Archives: Planting

Tulip Bulb Planting Time

04 Friday May 2012

Posted by gardensandpolkadots in Gardens

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

bulbs, flowers, garden design, Gardening, Hyacinth, landscape design, Planting, plants, Serendipity, Serendipity Garden Designs, Spring, Tulips

Stage two of growing flowers from bulbs is underway, I’m so excited and I’ve just added yet another reason to look forward to spring. If you haven’t read stage one, ‘It’s Bulb Planting Time’ click here and you can read all about when I planted my purple, papery Hyacinth bulbs. They are going very well by the way. I am keeping them moist and making sure that they get enough sunshine during the day. As the sun travels further north I have to make sure I move them so that they can get the maximum amount of sun available. I have managed to keep them close to a north facing wall so the heat from the wall is retained and radiates out even when the sun is going down.

I don’t know what colour this Hyacinth is going to be – pink, white or purple – but I am sure it will be magical and smell amazing.

You might remember that the Tulip bulbs I purchased required 4 to 6 weeks in the freezer. This tricks the bulb into thinking that it has spent a very chilly winter in the ground. When we plant them in Australia in Autumn the soil has usually retained some of the summer heat – depending on the year and your location, so you need them to chill before you plant them.

So, 5 to 6 weeks have past and my bulbs are ready for some potted love.

 

Chilly Tulip bulbs ready for potted love.

You can plant Tulips in a prepared garden bed or in a pot. I am planting mine in a pot, not just because my garden is predominantly filled with vegies (which would look quite magical with Tulips popping up) but also because I want to move the pot inside to the sunroom once it flowers. In addition to all these very good reasons, by planting in a pot I know exactly where they. At the end of the Tulip flowering season when the flowers have finished and the leaves have died down I can easily lift the bulbs (i.e. dig them up) wash them, dry them and store them over winter. Then next year at about the same time after 4 to 6 weeks in the freezer I will plant them all over again – it just keeps getting more exciting!

Yesterday in the gorgeous afternoon light and desperately needing some outdoor time I decided that my lovely little Tulip bulbs had spent sufficient time in my freezer and were ready for the next stage in their journey – some potted love! So out I went with my pot, soil, gloves, frozen Tulip bulbs and a will for the little things to produce the most wonderful display for our sunroom when they arrive. I don’t know what colours we will be blessed with but it really doesn’t matter, five flowering Tulip bulbs is all we need.

I have placed the bulbs deep in the composted soil with the pointy end facing up.

The most important thing about planting any bulb is that it is planted the right way up. You can see from the picture above that I have planted the bulbs with the pointy end facing up. This end is where all the fabulous green and flowered goodness will come from. If you plant them upside down you’ll be visiting the florist for your fresh Tulips.

Tulip bulbs require deep, moist, well-drained soil enriched with compost and leaving them to do their growing business in a nice sunny position. It also recommends (on this pack) that they be planted 10cm to 15cm apart. I have read just as many articles on planting bulbs that suggest mass planting them in pots and in the garden. If you are not sure, experiment. They are not expensive to purchase. You could plant some in the garden at different spacings or in pots with different numbers. If you do plant them in the garden remember where they are so that you can lift them and plant them again next autumn. By experimenting you can see what the bulbs respond to best and you can see what colours and spacing you prefer.

Let the magic begin. Oh, so excited for spring!

I am so excited about all the magical little bulbs I have planted over the past few months. I will care for them as best I can and encourage them to burst out of the soil in spring in wonderous colours and perfect health and look forward to displaying them in my home.

A vase full of beautiful pink Tulips.

Pink Tulips, I am so excited to see what colours mine will be.

I hope you too have enjoyed planting your bulbs, which ever you have decided to plant.

I can’t wait to hear your stories on your bulb flowering successes when they start showing their little green leaves to the heavens in spring. Good luck!

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It’s Bulb Planting Time

04 Wednesday Apr 2012

Posted by gardensandpolkadots in Gardens

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Tags

Autumn, bulbs, garden design, Gardening, Hyacinth, Planting, plants, Rainbows, Serendipity, Serendipity Garden Designs, Spring, Tulips

Have you ever thought how wonderful growing your own flowers from bulbs would be? Well now is the time to plant them. I have decided that this year I will indeed attempt to grow some flowers from bulbs. But which ones? There are an endless amount to choose from: Daffodils, Jonquils, Tulips, Ranunculus, Hyacinths, I could go on.

One of my favourite bulbs is the Tulip. So beautiful and so many colours to choose from. Anyone who has visited Keukenhof in Holland will agree with me when I say mass plantings of tulips can look like a magical carpet of rainbows! I couldn’t believe the range of colours. Black? Wow!

Me (in the middle) at Keukenhof in Holland 1997

I would like to try growing Tulips and I think I will also try growing Hyacinth. Hyacinth is probably not for everybody, it has a very strong perfume but in the right position in your house you’ll get the scent each time you pass. The flowers of the Hyacinth are a little magical too, standing upright and commanding just a little bit of importance. What’s not to love about that? The colours are cheery and bright, just what we need in winter.

So there we have it, it’s written, not only written but announced- globally, I will be growing flowers from bulbs. If you are also interested in trying this for the first time join me in planting some bulbs and share your growing story with me. I’d love to hear about your growing success.

The bulb journey so far:

Mixed Tulip bulbs

Mixed Tulip bulbs. I’m excited to see which colours pop up in spring.

It is recommended that these Tupils go into the freezer for 4 to 6 weeks before planting. They have taken up residence with the Broad Beans.

It is recommended that these Tulip bulbs go into the freezer for 4 to 6 weeks before planting. They have taken up residence with the Broad Beans!

Note: Not all Tulip bulbs require time in the freezer before planting. Read the packet or ask your friendly Horticulturalist for assistant.  I purchased at a good time, I will be able to keep my Tulip bulbs in the freezer until the end of April then plant them before the cold of winter starts.

Mixed Hyacinths. I can't wait to see these beauties bursting out of thier bulbs.

Mixed Hyacinths. I can’t wait to see these beauties bursting out of thier bulbs.

The beautiful Hyacinth bulb with its purple papery covering.

The beautiful Hyacinth bulb with its purple papery covering.

Hyacinth bulb in and ready to do its thing. I'm getting excited.

Hyacinth bulb in and ready to do its thing. I’m getting excited.

My Hyacinth bulbs new home for the winter.

My Hyacinth bulb’s new home for the winter, in full sun with good draining potting mix.

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Aside

Welcome…

26 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by gardensandpolkadots in Gardens

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Balcony Plants, Courtyards, Garden Blog, garden design, Gardening, Gardening Blog, Gardens, Gardens and Polka Dots, Indoor Plants, landscape design, Planting, plants, polka dots, Serendipity, Serendipity Garden Designs, Vegetable Gardens, Vegetables

Welcome to Gardens and Polka Dots.

This is a place where you can come to see interesting gardens of old world classic beauty, modern ideas or where you can marvel at the innovation of great garden designers, landscape architects and engineers. I love the outdoors and am continually inspired by the magic that some designers are able to achieve.

But what are the Polka Dots, I hear you ask? Well Polka Dots are for the finer things in life, like, a day at the beach when the sky blends effortlessly into the sea…a cup of coffee with a rosette on top… a glass of Rosé that smells like summer and looks like sunshine… a smile from a friend at just the right time… a fig picked from the tree and shared…

They are the unexpected surprises in our lives that seem to just appear from out of nowhere. However, some Polka Dots are always there, we just haven’t noticed them yet.

I am always on the lookout for Polka Dots during my day. In fact I can see one now, a Dragonfly with a red tail just landed on the fence outside my window. It could have picked any window, but it picked mine. How lucky. And off it flies…

Please feel free to share any Gardens or Polka Dots that you discover during your day. Who knows, maybe there is a Polka Dot just outside your window.

Thanks for visiting, I hope you enjoy Gardens and Polka Dots.

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