The Obsessive Gardener: May 2011

Sunday, May 15, 2011

GBBD May 2011

My first Garden Blogger Bloom Day post of 2011, and things are looking pretty good out in the garden this spring.

Bastogne's Parrot are doing well. I did try to get more, but they didn't look like these at all, they were just red without much ruffling.

Bleu Amiable and Sweetheart tulips are a great combination.

These white tipped tulips in with the Prinses Irene's came in a mixed pack. They look like Private Eyes, so I'm going with that.

Sweetheart tulips are definitely one of my favorite tulips.

These are another of my favorite: Gavota. They are very hardy and multiply.

Abba are a rich red (which you can't see very well in this picture since the light is shining through the back). They look like roses.

Here are my box bulbs in full bloom. I am planning to get some of these planted later today.

Brunnera "Kings Randsom" - a non-tulip is blooming!

Another non-tulip, Mount Hood Daffodils.

Sunrise tulips give you the most bang for your buck; they are one of the first to bloom and one of the last to die back. Plus, they are just so beautiful and change their look as they age: creamy yellow with just a slight tipping of red, to fully blushed with a more distinct red tipping.

Tulip holding pen; I plant the tulips here until spring when I can have a better idea where they should go in the garden.

Tubergen's Gem is multiplying!

Weber's Parrot... not quite what I had in mind. What do you think?

Wide shot of the garden. Lots of tulips, and always more to come :)

And an overhead shot from my upstairs window. Spring is such a great time of year!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

More Tulips!

Here are some more pictures from my garden. We had some 80F weather yesterday, so some of the tulips decided they had had enough. But there were plenty more to take their place.

This is a view as passerby on the street would see it. Looking good!

I had lost my map to what was planted in each of these boxes, so I had to wait until they bloomed to see where I should plant them. Turns out that it was a good thing too as some of these were falsely advertised.		This was one of the fears that I had planting the bulbs in boxes - voles. They only got into one of the boxes though, but did eat most of the bulbs in the box.
These Sweetheart tulips are in my top three of favorite tulips along with Prinses Irene and Gavota.		Weber's Parrot didn't turn out quite as I had imagined. Too pink and too yellow. Perhaps they mellow out. If they don't, these may end up being give-aways.
Blue Gem: very touchy little guys, and expensive! But they are worth it. Love them!		Turbergen's Gem: These have finally started to multiply. They are one of my favorite species tulips (tied with Blue Gem)
Abba tulips are a very rich red.		This is the garden entry from our back door.
These Salome daffodils took years to finally bloom, but now they are blooming every year.		I prefer the Gavotas when the edges are white, but they are still one of my favorites even when the edges are yellow. Very classy looking.
From left to right: Bright Parrot, Sunrise, Purrisima, Red Emperor (far background)		Odalisque tulips are very easy to grow and they give a nice punch of color without being gaudy.
I had 12 Dillenburg but many dissappeared. For the last several years only two bloomed, but this year, four decided to make an appearance.		This is a shot of the far back garden as you come around the bend. Front to back: Prinses Irene, Private Eyes, (forgot the dark purple ones), Sweetheart, Bleu Amiable (to the right of Sweetheart), Purrisima, Sunrise.
Another view from the street.		View from the yard.