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| Wild mustard, daffies, and tulips. |
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| Mendax and the varied daffies. |
The blooms of early spring--I get so jazzed, like a little kid-- more fun than opening Christmas gifts. This is the best side of 'reaping what you sow' which is usually a solemn warning about wild oats--but in the garden it is wonderful advice for future floral joy.
The bees overwinter here, so I allowed the wild mustard and dandelions to grow. Bees don't considered them weeds--wildflowers , maybe. I will admit to thinning out the mustard, and dandelions in the more 'dignified' parts of the Butterfly Garden to have less competition for water when I plant sunflowers, lantana, and other annuals. The back garden, much more of a Wildlife Refuge, will have lots of whatever 'weeds' (wildflowers?) choose to survive the high desert here SoCal.
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| Early morning, closed tulips waiting to open. |
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| Iris making a grand entrance. |
New tulip bulbs in what will soon be in the vibrant Rose Garden. White House, eat your heart out. Old iris tubers were transplanted 2 years ago and chose this year to be spectacular--Van Gogh would love these!
I purchased collections of bulbs online, called 'English Garden' and 'Cottage Garden.' That's funny, my garden climate is so far from an English garden, and I do not have a cottage, but a little mission style home--but the variety of bulbs are welcome, and doing well after a satisfactory El Nino winter.
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| Hyacinth--perfumes to whole neighborhood. |
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| Crocus outside Mendax' door. |
All the effort in the summer and autumn, the choosing and purchasing online bulbs from around the world; the gathering of bulbs from my garden shelves in the laundry room; the dig-dig-digging during the hot desert days--all is nothing compared to the scent and site of the hyacinth!
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Master Liberamens on Tulip Memorial Day.
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The splash of color on a late winter's day--crocus and daffodils in February, tulips and hyacinth in March, iris making a royal appearance--very cheerful,
reminding there is warmth and anticipation for spring.
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| Anemone--also red and white. |
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| Crocus, intense, tiny beauty. |
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| Grape hyacinth. |
I sort of have a 'Chef's Garden,' I say sort of, because I am truly not a chef or even a particularly good cook. But I love to grow herbs, garlic, onions, working on greens. Just the smell of the mint and rosemary is worth it. But I digress. I plunked some flower bulbs in my backyard herb/veg area--so while I wait for Tre Verde--spinach, chard, and kale--I have hilarious flowers and very pleased bees.
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| Early spring in the herb--oops--bulb flower garden. My funky little solar water fountain looking to catch some sunlight is in the center. |
