Dangerous or Smooth Fall Planting Time

 

A few bulbs had arrived in the mail this week and I had purchased a few on sale at Manard’s so yesterday was bulb planting day. With the threat of more rain and a few days of very cool weather that is threatening frost and freeze warnings already it prompted me into getting out the shovel and get them into the ground.

At this time of the year when it is time to plant bulbs and Fall flowers the ground is usually dry and hard as a brick. I love the seeing new flowers in Spring but dreaded trying to get them planted because of the hard clay soil. I almost burned up my drill last Fall trying to get the auger to drill into the hard ground.
Not very good ground for planting and for bulbs around here in the hills. It is the stuff they use to use to fill the cracks between the logs on houses. I am talking adobe and not the program. Since I am not rich and cannot amend all of the soil  I deal with it the best I can and hope the flowers will find a way to survive as well.
After all of the rain we have had this year it was so nice to just take the shovel and to be able to dig into the rain softened soil.
For once bulb planting was not an all out battle with a drill and auger bearing all of my weight behind them, smoke filling the air and the smell of a burning motor from the drill. And I have a lot of weight to throw behind them. I did not even have the aggravation of the auger catching on that one root that happens to be just where I wanted to plant that bulb. You know that one. Yes we all have them. That root that throws off that perfect pattern you had in mind for Spring blooms. I did not even go around muttering to myself. Well, to tell the truth I do that anyway and hope that no one catches me at it.  I did not have to use the  mattock or one stick of dynamite. Okay now I am exaggerating  at tad but dynamite has entered my mind on some occasions. Here in the hills it should be included in all gardening kits for Fall planting time.
No, it was a good day to plant bulbs.

 
Some of the bulbs that were gently put into the ground were:
Hot Pants, Apeldoorm and Carrousel tulips.
Also a mix of Purple Sensation, aflatunense and nigrum Alliums. And some Persian Blue Alliums were planted in the new corner bed. Got to have blue ones in your garden!
I planted a mixture of new Crocus blubs. It has been years since I have had Crocus blooms in the Spring.
Do not tell the squirrels I planted bulbs of Hyacinth’s named  “Gipsy Queen” and “Minos” which were planted to replace some of the Hyacinths that have started to get smaller and smaller blooms each year.
They have not dug up the new irises lately so maybe these bulbs will escape. This year  planting them without the smoking drill and except for the occasional comment out loud to self all went quietly.
Just maybe the squirrels did not see me at it also. I heard no squawking in the woods from the pesky varmints.
I also planted some English Bluebells in the shade garden.
More blue! They will be a welcome addition next Spring.
And the last bulbs were of the new “Centhannes” Daffodils.

Not all that was planted yesterday were bulbs but a few new plants were also added.
To the corner bed  I added two new Double Scoop Raspberry Echinacea's.
Also some Blue Boy and Blue Ice tall phlox were planted.
Some new lilies have also been added to the garden beds.
I also moved a few plants around yesterday so it was a busy day in the garden.  More moving of plants you say. I know not new news when it comes to my garden. I need a sign to put into the garden that says “Lona drop that shovel”.
The vertigo has disappeared much faster this time around by the way so I never fell over on my head or that other end once.
So it is a good day spent in the gardening doing what you like most when you do not get grass stains on your derriere. 

This is one of the new lilies I added to the Woodland bed in August.
The “Dizzy” daylily (not Lona)  I received from American Meadows grew fast and is starting to bloom.

They well be completely open now. I love having a new lily in bloom now and I also saw in the Woodland bed that one of the reblooming Irises “Blue Swede Shoes” is about to bloom. I will share the pictures when it blooms.

The Moonvine bloom is ready to open (yah!) and I have my eye on it. Maybe tonight?
There are a few new plants that are still coming in the mail to be planted but all of the bulbs are in the ground for this Fall.
Putting in new bulbs and planning for next Spring makes me happy and gives me something to look forward to after the long winters.
Are you planting new bulbs this Fall? Any new plans being made and plants going into the ground ?
Gardeners are a hopeful lot and live season to season.

Happy Gardening Everyone,
Lona

 

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