Getting things started
Welcome to my garden blog! I have a fairly big backyard garden in Boston, Massachusetts where, our current main crop is... acorns. Hence, The Acorn Garden.
As things start blooming, I'll take you on a proper tour of the garden, but right now I want to talk about BULBS.
I have a bit of an obsession with bulbs. I'm not sure why, but they just seem a bit more magical than seeds (even if they come from seeds). There's just something mysterious about planting something in fall, something that looks like a potato or an onion, and then even when it's horribly cold outside, it pops a little green nose up. And then grows into something as tall as me in the case of my tree lilies.
Last fall, I went crazy with tulips and hyacinths-- so much that I ran out of containers in which to plant them. I potted them all up in pots and then buried them all in one of my raised beds. I threw a tarp on the whole thing (to keep the falling acorns out as well as the squirrels) and said "good night" for the winter.
This week, I pulled back the tarp, expecting to find maybe a few yellow bulb noses and was blown away to find this:
As things start blooming, I'll take you on a proper tour of the garden, but right now I want to talk about BULBS.
I have a bit of an obsession with bulbs. I'm not sure why, but they just seem a bit more magical than seeds (even if they come from seeds). There's just something mysterious about planting something in fall, something that looks like a potato or an onion, and then even when it's horribly cold outside, it pops a little green nose up. And then grows into something as tall as me in the case of my tree lilies.
Last fall, I went crazy with tulips and hyacinths-- so much that I ran out of containers in which to plant them. I potted them all up in pots and then buried them all in one of my raised beds. I threw a tarp on the whole thing (to keep the falling acorns out as well as the squirrels) and said "good night" for the winter.
This week, I pulled back the tarp, expecting to find maybe a few yellow bulb noses and was blown away to find this:
How did they get all green under a tarp? I have no idea. But, I'm telling you, it's magic.
I've moved most of the bulbs into the greenhouse to get a head-start on the spring display. I've left a few other pots outside, so hopefully we'll end up with a longer spring bulb show.
What you can do in the garden right now
I don't suggest raking or cutting back spent herbaceous perennials just yet-- both the insects and the plants still need the cover and the birds are still eating the seeds. You can gently rake the areas that have emerging spring bulbs, though, such as snowdrops.
March is a good time to prune summer bearing raspberries and blueberries.
March is also the time I start my seeds that are marked "start 8 weeks before first frost." For me, these are tomatoes, peppers and parsley.
Dear Madeline,
ReplyDeleteI have dedicated my entire life to avoiding gardening. When my father, excited to have me experience the wonder of watching carrots grow, coaxed me into giving it a try, I turned right back into the novel I was reading and tuned him out. When my know-all-things-nature cousin made a salad with ingredients from her well tended garden, I gobbled up her salad but not her expertise. And now you've arrived. I'm in! I'm going to follow your blog, and maybe (emphasis on the maybe) be inspired. I'm excited to read more!!
Thank you so much, Gail, for your support!
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