Preparing for Spring

It's time to begin planning for spring. Spring bulbs are to be planted in the fall. Wildflower seeds are to be sown in the fall. It is a great joy of mine to search for seeds and bulbs that I want to grow. I have several new areas to plant. The entire area of ground around the fruit trees in the Orchard is going to be turned into flowerbeds as well as 8 foot flowerbeds on either side of the boardwalk down to the Orchard. That is a lot of space!! And my son, Max, and I built a flowerbed around an oak tree that I am going to fill with bulbs.

Today I ordered wildflower seeds. I ordered the following:

2 oz of Corn Poppies - Corn Poppies have 3-4 inch blooms that range in color from white and pink to red. The foliage is inconspicuous, which is nice . The poppy seeds that I got from my aunt Maedell have a lot of greenery, and that takes up a lot of space. 2 ounces of seeds will cover a 2700 square foot area. They are for the Orchard.

2 oz. of Corn Flowers - also called Bachelor Buttons. They come in colors of blue, white, pink, and red. The flowers last a long time and they dry well (I don't know why I mention that, I'm not going to be making dried floral arrangements or anything the sort!). The foliage is pretty gray-blue. I got some of these in a free seed packet that was mailed along with some seeds I ordered last year. I had never grown them before, and I loved them! It's good to try something new every year. They reseed. 2 ounces will cover a 1400 square foot area. They are for the Orchard.

1 oz. of Foxglove - These are for the Infinity Garden where my medicinal herbs grow and the beds that are going to be built on each side of the boardwalk. It is a bit shady in both those areas which Foxglove prefers. 1 ounce of seeds will cover a 5500 square foot area, but there is only a 50% planting success rate with these seeds. Reseeding biennial - you have to be patient.

3 packets of Maximillian Sunflowers - these are perennial sunflowers. I planted some last year but they didn't grow.

2 oz. of Larkspur - I love them. Pink, purple, blue, and white tall spikes of flowers. The are for the Orchard. Reseeder.

1 oz. Scarlet Flax - this is an effort at trying something new. The flowers are red. I've never grown them before. An ounce of seed will cover a 340 square foot area. Reseeder.

1 oz. of Tuber Vervain - another new one, deep purple flowers. 1 ounce will cover a 900 square foot area. Reseeder.

The bulbs that I want to order are as follows:

Bulbocodium conspicuous (Hoop Petticoat daffodils) - These daffodils are very tiny, only 4-6 inches tall. The foliage is grass-like. They will be very pretty around rose bushes. The flowers are so-named because they look like old-fashioned petticoats, they do not have surrounding petals. Very darling. They naturalize easily in Texas. I will probably get 200 of them; they are pretty inexpensive. 200 will cost about $100.

Tulipa var. chrysantha ‘Tubergen’s Gem’ - these are naturalizing tulips. They are the variety that grow wild in Turkey. They are a very vivid yellow and red color. I will probably get 200 of them which will cost about $100. They are also very short, 8-10 inches tall and will be very nice under rose bushes and towards the front of borders.

Allium sphaerocephalon (Drumstick Allium) - These are in the onion family. They make cute, drumstick-shaped purple flowers. They grow to be about 18-30 inches tall. I will get at least 100, maybe more. That will cost about $20. They naturalize.

Grand Primo Tazettas - these are truly the old-fashioned daffodils that one can still find growing next to an old house or in a cemetery. They look a lot like paper whites. Very expensive unfortunately - three bulbs for 15 dollars. Yikes! I will just have to be patient and wait for them to multiply.

Byzantine Glads (Gladiolus comunis ‘Cruentus’) - these are expensive also, but what gems! These are wild gladiolas found growing on mountainsides in the Mediterranean. But they have been in Southern gardens for many, many generations. They are a beautiful deep magenta.