Thousands of Bulbs

What does over 14,000 bulbs look like prior to bloom? Well, not like these pictures but you can get an idea. There is no possible way I can show you all 14, 000 plus bulbs I have planted on our property in the last three years because they are spread out all over the property. I did take these pictures of our big field which contains the orchard and a wildflower area. The wildflower area is posted above. It is a small portion of the field where I planted mainly native prairie plants such as asters, sunflowers, rudbeckia, Joe Pye Weed, baptisias, cup plants, and many more perennials. Prior to establishing this area as a wildflower area though, Mr. Fix-it and I spent some time planting daffodil bulbs here. These are all predominantly 'Ice Follies'. The grass is brown because it was just bushhogged this month in preparation for the growing season. Soon new growth of the perennials will begin as the daffodils fade away. I will post pictures once these 'Ice Follies' bloom.

Moving into the orchard we see green grass. The orchard is mowed on a regular basis. We walk in this area a lot and need the grass to be maintained in order to have access to the plants and to keep down the insect problem. The chickens also live in the orchard and help out with insects. The orchard itself is about one acre large and is filled with daffodil bulbs of all sorts. The bulbs are planted about 18" apart throughout the entire area.Those tall green stems are the daffodil bulbs showing their foliage in preparation for blooms. The hay bales are a wind block for my two bee hives. Both bee hives are doing great.

More of the orchard looking at the daylily beds and toward the grape arbor. Mr. Fix-it and I planted the bulbs before we mapped out the garden beds. Hence, there are bulbs everywhere including in the garden beds. This is totally not a good method of planting a garden so don't do it. I wish I had taken the time to plan things out better. And this from a landscape designer.

More of the orchard looking past some bare fruit trees toward the front gardens. This area will be amazing once the daffodils bloom. Right now the flowers don't make a big impact in onesies and twosies but that will change as the bulbs slowly multiply. The orchard will, believe it or not even with only one or two bulbs per hole, become a mass of yellows and whites soon. All of these bulbs are of different varieties. There are perhaps about two dozen different kinds of daffodil bulbs just in the orchard. Therefore their bloom times may vary a little. The entire show will not happen all at once then disappear.

More daffodils.

These ones have begun their bloom. They are probably the cultivar 'Rijnfelds Early'.

More blooms are beginning to show. These flowers are such a delight for me! They are never bothered by the wildlife, are tough as nails, easy to divide, and propagate, and bloom for a very long time. I usually have daffodils in bloom all the way from early February until the end of May. For information on how to divide daffodils see my popular post found here. You do NOT need to wait until the bulbs are dormant. In fact, if you do you most likely will forget where the bulbs are located. All of the above bulbs have been divided and replanted within the last three years when they were in bloom, prior to bloom, or just after bloom. I prefer to dig and divide daffodils prior to bloom IF I know what cultivar the bulbs are. If not, then I wait until they bloom so that I can coordinate the height and colors and types of blooms with adjoining blooms....

in the garden....

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday and for those of us in Tennessee it means we get to exercise our valuable right to vote. That's where you'll find me and I hope you'll also be visiting your local polling station too. 

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden