The first thing I do every morning is glance out of the window.
Often I then run outside to capture a great dawn.
Today it was just a single, very long, thin cloud, in itself worthy of a photograph.
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Some weeks ago while finding myself in a garden centre, I picked up some bulbs and seeds.
As always I made my selections by scrutinising the images on the packets.
It was too soon to plant, so my purchases were put away pending arrival of warmer temperatures.
The much larger bulb packet sat at the top of the bag, catching my attention and making do a double-take.
As a reminder to myself, I left the bulbs on the kitchen counter and Grant had a chuckle about my hopefully vigorous, bold gladiolas!
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Checking the packet, I saw that it was now safe to plant the bulbs and this being a very fine day, I decided some light gardening was in order.
In my opinion there is no such thing, but I don’t pretend to be a gardener of any sort.
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This is my kind of flower.
Dandelions grow without any effort or encouragement on my part.
In the past I’ve tried planting seeds with little success, perhaps because upon opening the packet and viewing the seeds, I generally groan:
” Plant them inches apart?”
You can hardly see them.
And then they all fall out at once.
Mother would roll her eyes.
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But now it was bulbs, which I could both see and hold in my hand.
Having inserted the first one into its suitably deep hole I contemplated another and decided I had planted the previous one upside down.
Not a gardener, remember!
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Maybe we should just support a local enterprise and buy some of their seedlings.
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The lilac has been looking very sad these past couple of years, so last Fall I did some heavy pruning and pulled out some invasive plants that had entwined themselves.
Hopefully the lilac will do better with more breathing room. I also offered verbal encouragement.
Mum did this, although in her case it was more a matter of threats:
“Now grow!”
Woe-betide any plant that didn’t measure up to Mum’s exacting standards.
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The wild daffodils are still doing well, no doubt thanks to the continued (blissfully) cool weather.
I love how they turn their heads to track the Sun.
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Mum was a woman of many talents, none of which I inherited, cooking, sewing, knitting.
She was a wizard at the Times crossword.
She made herself a slave to her gardens, but I suspect they gave her the most pleasure.
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Sunny, 62F/17C
Bug-free.
Perfection!
Thank you, Carolyn, for your perfect musing, and lovely photos of everything that you love!
Joanna
Bulbs are often super clever and will turn themselves if they find they have an amateur human to contend with. They will also adjust their depth if they are not happy. Fear not – satisfaction guaranteed – nearly always!
Good for you on planting bulbs – hope they turn into lovely flowers (that even Grant will be amazed at the results)! My mum also talks to her plants often (me too, but that doesn’t always help). We are now in Autumn, but the temperature remains between 25-30C / 77-86F. That’s one thing about East London: Here it never really gets Winter properly like in other parts of our country!
I seem to have the unwanted skill of being able to ensure the death of anything I plant. So I stopped trying, and left the garden for nature to do its work. Now there are daffodils, snowdrops, and crocuses, none of which I have ever planted. Followed by a carpet of vibrant yellow dandelions across the lawn all summer. Less work for me, and a completely natural environment for my garden.
Best wishes, Pete.
I had to laugh at your planting one bulb upside down. One year, I planted about a dozen Daffodil bulbs upside down and wondered why only a few of them actually came up. I don’t do bulbs anymore for obvious reasons.