Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Pickwicks, Puppies & Tête-à-Tête

Tuffy is worried about the economy. So am I.
"We're waiting for economic clarity." So says my favorite client after he canceled all the freelance projects I had on my list for this fall.

Aren't we all? I grumbled to myself as I pulled on my boots, hit the trail and tried to walk off this latest in a series of setbacks.

Desperate for good news. It came in the form of the UPS guy. My first box of bulbs arrived with 100 little mini Daffodils. (Tete-a-tete.)

Pickwick Crocus that (allegedly) blooms true blue.

Plus, 24 Darwins. Which didn't feel like such an extravagant purchase a month ago.

Darwin is the only Tulip I've found that truly behaves like a perennial ~ popping up with predictably pretty flowers, year after year.

Yeah, yeah... I swore I'd never plant another Tulip bulb but I just couldn't resist. I've got a thing for orange all of a sudden.

So, I confiscated some chicken wire from Almosta Ranch. Dug a big hole, layered it with wire mesh, filled it with soil, tossed in the Darwin Tulips and covered it with more wire mesh. Who knows? Perhaps this grand effort will keep the critters from eating my bulbs.

Last year's trick, sprinkling Red Pepper Flakes into the soil, didn't even slow them down...

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My tulips never last more than a year or two. I'd like to give these a try. - chris

Anonymous said...

My 2 favorite Darwin Hybrid Tulips are "Beauty of Apeldoorn" and "Apeldoorn Elite". These are great for those who like warm colors. I also like the Impression series too.

Granny J said...

My favorite tulips are the little so-called species types...however, we have a problem here with the javelina, who adore almost every bulb with the exception of those poisonous daffodils. They eat my pansies for desert.