Channeling My First Post

Tags

bulbs, flowers, grape hyacinths, hyacinths, landscaping, Spring

A few weeks later than usual, it’s finally Spring here in central Pennsylvania!

Grape Hyacinths

Five years (and four days) later, I’m channeling my first post (Hello World) as I transplant grape hyacinths. Up on our back hill and in the middle of the front yard, we have tons of grape hyacinths blooming. I love that once upon a time someone planted these, and then they began to naturalize. However, I know that Hubster will mow over the delicate blooms if I don’t rescue them and relocate them to a protected landscaped area. Knowing I wanted them spared, Pumpkin surprised me by digging them up while I was making breakfast inside. ❤ And the bluebirds are still watching…

XOXO,
Young Wifey

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Daffodil Daze

Tags

daffodils, grape hyacinths, Minnow Daffodils, narcissus, Tête-à-Tête daffodils

I recently read somewhere, about a trick to keep your cut daffodils longer-lasting. Turn daffodils upside down and fill the stem with water, plug the bottom with a small wad of cotton and then place into vase of water. I decided to give it a go with my daffodils. I always cut my flowers in the morning or late at night, when it’s cool. Combining new tricks with old, I cut and arranged my full-size, Tête-à-Têtes, and minnow daffodils.

Daffodil Daze

I arranged the flowers into groups with height appropriate glass vases. I added my grape hyacinths for a splash of color and contrast in texture. I love varying the height, colors and textures of flower arrangements. I left the daffodils in the kitchen for the day, before deciding to relocate to my bathroom vanity.

What is your favorite cut flower to bring inside?

Spring Bulbs in Autumn

Tags

alliums, autumn planting, daffodils, fall planting, grape hyacinths, hyacinths, perennial, perennial gardening, snow drops, spring bulbs, tulips

Fall into a Frosty Sleep then Spring Up Next Year
Daffodils, tulips, alliums, crocuses, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, snowdrops… They all spell spring “a-u-t-u-m-n…”. It sounds a little backwards, planting spring bulbs in autumn. However, many bulbs need to go through the freeze in order to bloom in the spring. Bulbs are a great pop of color in your perennial garden, border, rockery and some even naturalized in your lawn. The bulbs in my perennial garden are well established and naturalizing well. It dawned on me one morning in the spring, why can’t I have daffodils in my shade garden? I needed the extra pop of color there and they’ll get plenty of sunlight before the leaves fill out on my might oaks. In August, I talked about which bulbs I would be purchasing for this season’s planting. I placed my order and waited for my box of joy to arrive! Now that it’s arrived I have a busy week ahead of me…

When it comes to bulbs, I don’t follow placement when it comes to height. So what if I place some crocuses in the back of my garden? When they bloom, there’s nothing in front of them to block their color! Follow the planting instructions on the package in which you received the bulbs. In the spring, remember to let the foliage brown before you remove it from the bulbs.

Happy Planting!

Hello World!

Tags

bluebird, bulb transplant, DIY, gardening, grape hyacinths, Home Improvement, landscaping

Hello World!
Every time I read my sister’s blog, I think about starting one. After putting off the thought for a while, I finally decided to share my life with you.

Hubster and I bought our house three and a half years ago. I wanted to run screaming the first time I laid my eyes on the house. He looked past the waist high grass, taller than the window shrubs on the exteriors and yet beyond the purple shag carpet, pink walls, and bird stencils and saw the potential. We like to do things ourselves, but we were biting off more than we could chew. Today we have a lovely home, but are still working to make it our dream home.

The previous owner left only a few hidden gems behind: three large oak trees, an overgrown rosebush, an overgrown lilac bush and a sparse scattering of grape hyacinths.  Last weekend, I decided to dig up the grape hyacinths and transplant them in my front garden. Hubster was about to mow for the first time this Spring and I had to race him to avoid their demise.  The first few times I tried to dig up the small fragile flowers, I split some bulbs and pulled the tops off of the others. After a few tries, the rest came up effortlessly. I quickly dug a small bucket full of these intact grape hyacinths and bulbs and decided that I would just have to wait until next year to dig up more of those tiny bulbs. I transplanted them among my daffodils. This year they may not look glamorous,

but next year they will bloom just as beautifully. I only wish I had some miniature daffodils to plant them with. Here’s looking to next year’s blooms…

XOXO,
Young Wifey