Making tulips out of onions....

So we have been working on getting our yard reclaimed from the winter weeds, moss and moles...
And we have made some good progress! The flower beds are weed free the grass has been mowed twice traps have been set, moss has been power washed into oblivion... which makes me want to plant...

Sadly I was too busy in the fall to get my bulbs in the ground :( Which I ALWAYS regret because Daffodils and Tulips are my FAVORITE!) There is nothing like seeing those babies pop out of the dirt in the early dark wet days of Spring around here!

Unfortunately, my bulbs never seem to take!  What I mean by that is they usually come up the first year and if I'm really lucky a second and even third year - however - they get wimpier and sparser as the years go by - which by the way is the exact opposite of what they should do!

Bulbs multiply and therefor when left in the ground they should get thicker over time.  Something I see on a regular basis in the flower beds of abandoned homes or out in the middle of a field where a home once stood...but frustratingly not in my yard :(



So I noticed a bag of bulbs (glads, lilies, dahlias, etc) at Costco so I grabbed it determined to get something planted in the ground.  While I did plant them I noticed particularly the glads didn't look to healthy, they looked dried out and some were even moldy leaving me feeling less than hopeful that they would emerge from the dark earth - but remaining hopeful I planted and fed and watered them.




I also found a bag of tulips in the garage - I'm certain they were purchased last Fall with every intention of getting them in the ground...so while covered in dirt I decided I would throw them in the ground and hope for the best - some were sprouting giving me hope but I'm certain for the majority of them I was just burying them...

Yesterday inspired by sunshine I went out and bought a few more plants and was busy planting them along the walk leading to the front door.  As I rummaging around the garage I found a grocery bag full of bulbs - beautiful healthy, sprouting bulbs! Not sure where they came from - maybe I had dug them up last year?- My experienced gardener mind identified them as tulip bulbs.  I was excited because they looked so HEALTHY and many were sprouting.  I found a nice patch of dirt under my Dogwood and another near the fountain and planted two areas of what I was sure would become the most beautiful patches of Tulips I've ever had not to mention the envy of my neighbors.



Later- at dinner I was telling my husband of my accomplishments and my discovery of the lushes fat healthy tulip bulbs - he smiled and mentioned that those bulbs were ONIONS from the garden last year...

Sigh...I don't even like onions!

Frychik