Friday, November 09, 2012

Reflections

Camassia
Can you hear all that backstabbing and name calling?
Those incessant warnings of the next apocalypse...? Yeah, me neither.

Hey! The election must be over! A fine excuse to go plant a bushel of bulbs*

This is my autumn bulb collection. Please scroll to bottom of post to get the skinny on these beauties.
However your candidates fared on Tuesday night, I'm hoping we can all join hands and breathe a collective sigh of relief. That all of this ultra-nasty, and oh-so-unnecessary, negativity is now over.

Maybe even get back to being friends? Sheesh! It became so divisive, for awhile there, that I abandoned Facebook entirely. And, that used to be my nightly entertainment.

Yup. Don't color me blue. Or, red. Color me a loser for wasting so much time on FB.

Allium (Critters absolutely hate the taste of these bulbs.)

Produce stickers starting with 8 = GMO
I can't take credit for anyone winning this election. Seeing as how I wrote myself in on the ballot. Well, why not? Come on, people. Doesn't anyone have a sense of humor any more?

For me, the biggest loss of the evening was Prop 37 in California. The only real thing I paid attention to. The one thing that might actually impact the average human being.

That initiative would have required mandatory labeling of GMO genetically modified foods. That 'O' stands for 'organism' ~ which should suffice in creeping you out and, hopefully, get you on the Say NO to GMO bandwagon.

I'm waaay disappointed in California for nixing that one. Aren't they supposed to be our hippy dippy forward-thinking neighbors to the West? Hmmm... Perhaps I've spent too much time people-watching in Venice Beach.

Anyhoo... all is not lost. GMO foods are already labeled.  

Just look for the number '8' ~ the first number on the produce code sticker. That indicates a GMO food item. Once you find that #8, drop whatever you were thinking of purchasing and run like hell. Over to the organic produce section.


The Skinny on these Gorgeous Spring-Flowering Bulbs
Top row, left to right:
  1. Gladiator Allium: Stunning 6-inch purple flower globes on 4 foot tall stems. 
  2. Itty bitty (2 inch) Grecian Windflowers create a spring carpet of cheery color. 
  3. Camassia: (My all-time fave) Weeks and weeks of brilliant blue stars on 36-inch stems. 
  4. Glory of the Snow: Brilliant Lily-like blooms peek out through melting snowdrifts. They're available in white but why in the world would you plant white flowers timed to bloom in the snow? 
Bottom row, left to right:
  1. Allium Schubertii: 16-inch tall, spider-like blooms, put on a stunning fireworks show. I bought mine at the Star Trek convention! (kidding.) 
  2. Arum Italicum: Bright orange, seedy things. (I know nothing about this flower but I ordered it anyway.) 
  3. Monsella Tulips: Fragrant, feathery flowers, posing as peonies. 
  4. Replete Daffodils: Daffies masquerading as magnificent tulips ~ how cool is that? 
* Tip: When planting Tulips in mountain gardens surround these bulbs with Daffodil or Allium (onion) bulbs. Critters can't smell the yummy Tulips and they won't get gobbled.

9 comments:

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Kate girl how the heck are ya'!!
As a Canadian I am damn glad your election is over as well .. what a freakin' mess is made of it all.. damn scary in fact. I am glad Obama is still in though .. Mitt? Mittens? was one scary creature !!
Love your bulbs and yes!! daffs are the best : ) squirrels don't care for them and yet I LOVE them .. win win situation for me ? LOL
Sorry about the prop not going through .. I am shocked at California too since they are hippy dippy folks ? whats up with that?
Oh well .. we all crash and burn December 21 or 26 according to the Mayans ?? LOL
Thanks for dropping by girl !
Joy : )

Commonweeder said...

I just planted a very few bulbs, miniature narcissus, and two kinds of muscari that we can see from our dining table window. That should be cheering in April. Your photographs are fabulous.

Janie said...

Great hint on the GMO product labeling. I had no idea.
I'm with Joy, above, on the election front. I know, not very P.C. for Utah.

Andrea said...

Whenever i see your plants i seem to be in another planet, haha! That climatic conditions and gardeng experience i might never experience in this lifetime. So I am all impressed, most especially the blues. Wow they are all awesome and your shots are so beautiful. Thanks for visiting my post.

RURAL said...

Oh my gosh you had me at the first image.....

What photos, sigh, I want spring, now!

Jen

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Thanks, gals. Appreciate you stopping by. Janie and Joy ~ to be clear ~ I'm HUGELY relieved that Mittens did not win.

eileeninmd said...

Wow, these are gorgeous flowers. And I love the colors! Gorgeous bulbs and nice that the critters do not eat them. We have had critter problems in the past with our bulbs. Beautiful photos!

Rose said...

Another Facebook friend had a great post after the election about how fortunate we are to be living in a country where our leaders are chosen by ballot, not bullets, and how it was time for us all to work together solving the problems of this country. I thought it was such a great reflection that I was going to share it on my page, but then I started reading all the backlash in comments on her positive post. Sheesh! It's enough to make me want to bury my head (or hands, probably) in some potting soil.

I have all my bulbs planted already, but now I am regretting now ordering some camassia--beautiful!

Patrick's Garden said...

Congratulations you didn't win. What an awful job to lust over. I've been in hospital for a month and have 400+ bulbs to supervise the planting.of. Now that's the most stressful job I can handle right now

Enjoyed your reflections.