Tulips,Daffodils and Sunshine!

Friends of ours, Mark and Linda Adams, have a beautiful place on the eastern end of Lake Ontario. Their place was heavily wooded and they decided to start creating some beautiful gardens in their woods. All photos in this issue of my blog are from their gardens.


For several years they have grown tulips, daffodils, and several other varieties of spring  flowers and bulbs.

They have designed several other garden spaces as well.


Here are some of their spring flowers in bloom from a few years ago.

It might be awhile before our tulips are blooming, but here are some to get you through til yours are ready.

Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's Party!'

Robin Williams

In the photo below, you will see a beautiful rock wall that they had installed. This rock wall will attract garter snakes and snakes eat rodents. Rodents such as voles, moles and chipmunks love all kinds of bulbs and can easily demolish a large bed of bulbs in one season. If you don't have the resources to construct a rock wall, you can even just pile up some rocks and you might be able to attract some that way.

Many people believe that tulips, being perennials, should last forever. At least that's what I thought when I first started planting them. I found them to be very short-lived unless grown in the right conditions. And even then they didn't last too many years for me. There are certain hybrids of tulips that are more likely to be around longer than others, but eventually they will diminish in size and numbers, too. But don't be discouraged from planting them in the fall, they certainly make a glorious display in the Spring! For more information on tulips and trying to extend their life there are two links at the bottom of this post.

When planting tulips and daffodils and other bulbs, do not plant them in a straight line. They will look like soldiers when they come up and bloom. Bulbs look better when they are planted in groups of five or larger. This is more pleasing to the eye. Linda and Mark do a beautiful job of demonstrating this as you can see in the photos. All the tulips are planted in groupings.

In this photo you will see netting over the flowers. This is to protect the deer and rabbits from eating the flower buds.

Daffodils are more long-lived, and will multiply greatly for you. When you end up with too large a clump, they will have to be dug up. Dig up the clump after they are done flowering and the foliage has turned brown. You can either replant them in the spring after you dig them up or store them and plant them in the fall. If you store them, keep the bulbs dry, and in a dark place like a shed or garage. Daffodils are also deer resistant.

More links on tulip information:
Tulips: How to Plant, Grow...
How to Care for Tulips After They Bloom

Hope you enjoyed your walk 

among the tulips! 

Thanks Mark & Linda for 

sharing your gardens with us!

Feel free to comment in the space below.