Bulb Planting Time!

I love Fall!

  What's not to love about it?...the colors, smells, cooler temps (I'm not a hot sun gal), breaking out the hot chocolate and the sweaters, a sense of harvest...

One of my favorite things is that it's time to think about spring bulbs.

It's a bit of a challenge to put so much work in and not see the fruits of your labors for several months, but it's always worth it.

A year or two after we moved into this house I planted a couple hundred bulbs that we ordered from Colorblends (an excellent source for bulbs in bulk).

Andy definitely has an opinion about the yard/garden/flowers and apparently our preferred taste for spring color is not the same...so...we compromised and we planted yellow, red and white.  Don't get me wrong, they're beautiful, just not my first pick.

This picture and the following two are of, I believe, the first spring
(2008) after I planted my bulbs

I miss this little weeping cherry tree.  It died last year and we replaced it with a pear tree.  It blooms beautifully white in the spring, but I thought the little pink cherry had more character :)

Josh's baptism day...May 2011.

 As you can see, after three years, things multiplied and filled in nicely.  However, I began hankering for a change.  I let another year go by with my red/yellow/white mix and then got looking at the Colorblends catalog.  I marked the ones I really liked and then showed Andy.  He told me the ones he definitely didn't want and from the remaining combinations we mutually agreed on two blends (click here and here to see our picks)...one early blooming and also a late blooming.  (My first ones were kind of  early/mid bloomers and I always enviously eyed other gardens boasting tulips late in the season...but I also wanted them as soon as it felt like spring so why not order both?)
So.....I ordered 700 bulbs!

I love planting bulbs!

Abby and Ben helped clean up the yard...

...while I began the pleasant process of lovingly placing the bulbs in their new homes :)

Matt and Abby ended up helping me to try and get them all snug and safe before the last smidgens of light left the sky.  Since I had neglected my family for this project of mine, my neighbor brought dinner over so my family could eat while I continued to plant...she ended up coming out to plant hers too just as it was getting dark.  She turned her car on and we both planted by the light of her headlights.  It was fun!  I loved it!
There's just something about knowing you have the potential for a beautiful spring display bedded safely down for the winter.