Dreaming of Parrots

There is nothing but white outside my windows, though I can barely see the snow through the 6 and 7 foot icicles hanging in front of my windows. So much snow, its been at least 10 years since we've had so much. Plus the weather people are calling for bitter cold over the next few days. At least my road (dirt) won't start to thaw into a soupy, slidy mess.
I am keeping busy knitting and crocheting for Beadedwire and have begun a project photographing sea shells.
But mostly I dream of spring. In October I planted 150 parrot tulips bulbs. And began dreaming about them and spring.
I have a hard time with tulips here, they make delicious food for all the little creatures. Usually I plant them in big pots (the big rubber ones that shrubs come in.) But this year I bought little plastic pots that are supposed to be used for hydroponic gardening and planted each bulb in its own little pot. I am going to be broken hearted if this plan isn't successful.
Parrot tulips are my favorite, they rank with peonies and irises as one of the great garden flowers. Flamboyant, almost decadent, over the top - it is a pleasure to think of them under the snow waiting to fill the world with their extreme beauty.

The First Daffodils of 2009

I'm very excited my daffodils have begun to bloom! Today I worked in the garden (with help from my little dog Rory) raking off leaves and weeding.

i took the top picture today using the TTV method, shooting through the viewfinder of an old Kodak with my digital camera. It is a little unwieldy holding both camera but very interesting.

The second photo is a daffodil photographed under water through the side of a vase. The frilly petals remind me of a tutu so I call this one Yellow Ballerina.

Find of the Day:

This is such a pretty necklace, the little glass flowers remind me of daffodils. The necklace is made of sterling, Czech glass flowers and Swarovski crystals. You can see it and more lovely jewelry at AliBaliJewellery on Etsy.

The Little Iris

The little iris have begun to bloom in the lawn with the crocus and chionodoxa. There are many varieties, the one pictured here is Iris histrioides 'George' which is a deep red purple verging on magenta.
But these iris come in many colors all shades of purple and blue, yellow and white. You can see a wide assortment in the Bent and Becky's Bulbs catalogue.
Unfortunately they are not very perennial for me and I have to replant them every few years. I think this fall I will try them in garden soil rather than the lawn; maybe they will be happier there.

Find of the Day:

Another new form of art, at least for me. This is traditional Japanese Temari, which means 'hand ball' in Japanese. It is an ancient art originally created to make balls for children.

This temari was created by Barbara Suesse, author of Japanese Temari:A Colorful Spin on an Ancient Art (available on Amazon). The ball is filled with rice hulls, covered with soft yarn and then embroidered.

So beautiful it takes your breath away. More of her work can be seen and purchased at her Etsy shop,
Japanesetemari.

Snow Crocus

The little snow crocus are still going strong in my front lawn. They have been joined by the larger purple crocus and other little bulbs but are still the stars in my eyes. I love the exquisite markings though they are so tiny you must get down on your belly to appreciate them.
I will plant more this fall for my pleasure and sadly the pleasure of the many little animals who love them just as much as I.

Find of the Day:

I have never seen anything like this; I am amazed by the ingenuity and creativity of artists like Jennifer Maestre who made this pendant.

It is made of pencils, this is not a drawing or painting or photograph, it is actually pencils carved and arranged then laminated and covered with epoxy. Beautiful, and original. Her work can be seen and purchased at her Etsy shop jenmaestre.

The First Day of Spring

I know it is not officially spring but my first crocuses opened today and that is always the first day of spring in my garden. I don't think there is another flower that is as thrilling as these first tiny blooms.
The first crocus are the tiny species crocus just a few inches tall. So far only the the soft purple ones have opened but in the next weeks I will have a parade of purples and yellows and whites many with bronze and brown markings. They have wonderful intricate designs well worth croaching down in the wet muddy ground to inspect and enjoy.
I have been planting 1000 species crocus each fall into my front lawn, though I lose many each year to the little animals who share this hill garden with us. Crocus are extremely easy to grow; the only problem is protecting them from the animals who find them so delicious. Planting lots and scattering them threw the lawn helps. None will come up in my garden unless I plant them in pots or other protective devices.
But to me they are priceless and worth any amount of trouble for the joy they bring each spring.
The second "photograph" here is a scan of my crocus done last spring on my flat bed scanner.

Find of the Day:

I love this print, simply called "Spring Collection" by British watercolorist Jan Harbon. All of the colors and symbols of spring form a joyous wreath around the little crocus. Delicate, exquisite painting. The print is available on her Etsy shop JanHarbon.

Tulips

I wrote about the three plants I would take to a desert isle yesterday. The third was tulips. I must admit that one of my criteria for flowers is how photogenic they are, and tulips are perhaps the most photogenic of all flowers. They come in many shapes and colors and forms and are all beautiful. Parrot tulips, like the pink parrots in this photograph are wild with color and frilly form. But the simple singles like the reds in "Tulips in Snow", the second photograph, are also striking flashes of color.
Tulips are not hard: you just put them in the ground in the fall and the next spring you have beautiful blooms UNLESS they are eaten first. Unfortunately they are choice food morsels for the little animals that live below our gardens. My friend Mary and I once stood in my garden amazed watching a tulip being sucked down into the ground for someone's lunch. There are a number of ways of dealing with these critters. I plant my tulips in the big rubber pots that you buy shrubs in at nurseries, sunk into the ground. I leave the tubs in the ground and replant them each fall. During the summer I fill them with annuals. Other possibilities are soaking them in Ropel before planting or putting each in a little plastic mesh bag (like you buy sacks of oranges in). I used to do the latter with lilies before the red lily beetles came to New Hampshire.
I replant my tulips each fall because they don't come back well the next year, the bulbs split and the blooms are smaller and weeker each subsequent year). Expensive annuals but who can resist?

Find of the Day:

Aren't these origami tulips astonishing. I have tried origami but always given up in frustration.

Think of the talent and work to make this lovely everlasting bouquet.

These are made by an artist in Cork, Ireland and are available for purchase on her Etsy shop ArguingTheMobius.

Only $20 for 15 blooms on bamboo stems.

Ordering Spring Bulbs – Tulips

Now is the time to order bulbs to plant this fall for blooms in the spring. Tulips are a dilemma, their allure is intense, they come in so many colors and sizes and shapes and their beauty rivals the great peonies and iris. The simple singles are elegant and jewel colored. The doubles are lush and voluptuous. And little compares with the parrots in their myriad flaming colors for pure flamboyancy. The tulips below are pink parrots.
So what is the dilemma? They are not hard to grow. You put them in the ground and next spring tulips appear. But they are not easy to keep. Aside from the little species tulips they are not very perennial; after they flower the bulbs tend to divide themselves into little bulbs. They can be dug up and grown on for a few years to make new big plants but I don’t know of anyone, other than the Dutch bulb companies, who do this. Or they can be left in the ground to come back as smaller and smaller plants and flowers each year.
But in reality, one doesn’t even get to watch the dwindling plants very often since they are great favorites of all the little creatures that live (very happily I am sure) below our gardens. Often they find the newly planted bulbs even before the first year’s flowers. Few gardeners really enjoy buying this expensive rodent food. So what to do? Not growing tulips is simply not an option, they are too beautiful, and in my opinion the most beautiful ones cannot even be purchased as cut flowers.

How To Grow Tulips
I have found a few “solutions” none of which are particularly satisfactory. They can be soaked in a rodent repellant before planting and if the infestation is not too intense most will come up the first year. (After that they become dinner). More successful is to plant them in big sunken pots. I have lots of the ugly big green pots that shrubs come in and these work very well. I simply dig a big hole and put in the pot. Then I put in about half of the soil, set in the bulbs and cover with the rest of the dirt. You can even do several layers if the pot is big enough or put a layer of smaller bulbs (crocus or chiondoxa or something) on top.
Sometimes I have a space right in the garden where I want tulips so I sink the pot right there. Otherwise I will sink them in the vegetable garden and dig up the pot in the spring and put it where I want it. You don’t need to cover the pot with chicken wire since the varmints go throw the ground sideways not from on top. You can use this method with crocus another great critter favorite but in that case I think the chicken wire is needed to protect the tiny bulbs.
You can leave the tulips in the ground in these pots and you will continue to get tulips for a few years though usually they will get smaller each year.

Great Swaths of Tulips
Occasionally I need to treat myself to a great swath of tulips. This is an expensive treat since I do it realizing that it is a one time event. The purple tulips garden in the first picture is an example of this. To me it was worth the effort and the expense, it was glorious and with all the different tulips it lasted for weeks. I bought tulips in all different shapes and sizes but all purples. Singles, doubles, mostly dark purple, with a few lilac colors. My husband removed the sod from the lawn in front of an old lilac and I planted the bulbs into the earth with a long trowel. Then we put the sod back on top. It is important to use ground that is not part of the garden so the critters will not find the bulbs the first year.
The first year was beautiful, the second year I had a bloom or two, none since. It was worth it to me but I won’t be able to afford it again at least until my daughter finishes college.

Resources:
There are many wonderful bulb companies. A favorite is , a true labor of love by founder Scott Kunst. is Old House Gardens. (http://www.oldhousegardens.com. The catalogue is devoted to the preservation of antique and rare bulbs, many of which would have been lost to gardeners forever without his efforts. The catalogue itself is beautiful both on line and in print. Many of the bulbs offered are not available anywhere else. He even has true Rembrandt or broken tulips, the focus of the great tulip frenzy. I read this catalogue from cover to cover. It is full of good information and dazzling descriptions. The drawback is that you will want everything.

A Tulip Find.

These little blue tulip earrings are vintage German beads from the 1940’s set on hand crafted ear wires by executeme ( http.www.executeme.etsy.com). They are only $20 and they won’t disappear over winter like the real ones. She has many other lovely flower earrings in her shop.