Finally—I finished the bulbs
This must have been the longest bulb-planting season yet. Today I potted the last of my paperwhites: 4 Grand Soleil d’Or and 4 Golden Rain (a double mutation of GSdO), and 2 pots of tulips that I had kept forgetting about (they will be taken outside in April). Everything was nicely sprouted so I’m optimistic. The potted hyacinths are ready to come upstairs; there are still so many, as I felt they were not ready to give as holiday gifts.
On to the next thing. The Bluestone and Select Seeds catalogs are in hand; Plant Delights is on the way. I also need to think about some interesting indoor plants to replace the ones that will go outside. Between the printed catalogs and subsequent Internet ordering, this will last weeks, especially since I always over order and have to winnow the list down to a financially realistic total. It still adds up to a hideous amount.
Other off-season rituals: visits to the Botanical Gardens to see the orchid and hippeastrum shows (as well as just sit with the flowers). Then come the garden shows. This year, I have big plans to visit the Toronto show. I’ve heard good things about it. I must say, it seems a lot snazzier (see above) than the Buffalo one. But in other ways, it seems quite similar (see below).
Comments
Don't remind me that the garden show season is just around the corner! Ours locally is 'so-so', quite commercial. Half of it looks like a garage sale with all the non-gardening related vendors.
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
I'll be really interested to see how you respond to Canada Blooms. I went three years ago, and while it was interesting in some ways, I have no great desire to go back. The commercial aspects were just that--commercial, although the good part was that I got a pair of West County gloves that I still use, and recommend to everyone I know--and it WAS the first time I saw the Meadowbright echinaceas grown for real, not just in photos. But the design displays for landscaping just reminded me of the sorts of things you see at fashion shows: really out there, avant garde, trendsetting or whatever, but not something 99 44/100 percent of us would want in our yards. Fun to visit once, but I'd sooner return to the outdoor, multiple weeks display of International Flora Montreal.