Friday, May 10, 2013

Lovely Tulips and Daffodils


Tulips and daffodils! They are so….so…..Spring-y! That sounds lame but how else can I describe the way they make me feel? They represent warm weather and being able to garden after a cold, snowy winter. They look lovely paired with other spring flowers like Bleeding Hearts and Brunnera (above).
they are sensational on their own and massed.

I look through my old Garden Journals and I have planted lots of bulbs since 1991. I should have THOUSANDS but that is hardly the case. Early in my gardening career, many died and rotted in lower areas because I didn't realize that water would collect there. Tulips really only last 3-4 years because they are so highly hybridized these days but where are the rest? A gardening conundrum, that's for sure. Even the daffodils which should multiply in great numbers have not done so. Sigh…....

Oh well - let's enjoy the ones I have:


Estella Rijnfeld - the loveliest of parrot tulips and stunningly gorgeous as cut flowers in a vase


Apeldoorn - a classic old Dutch Darwin tulip in the brightest red


Pink Triumph: an interesting colour - a cross between pink and lilac


Used to have 10 or 12 of these but now only 3 are left: Lustige Witwe


I have two "black" tulips - above is Black Parrot…….


and the famous Queen of the Night


White Triumphator (which looks quite yellow in this photo but is actually white)


I am not averse to having orange in the garden (in small doses) - this is General de Wet


And now for a few of my favourite daffs. These babies (4" tall) are Hawera


Dainty, nodding Thalia


Pale-yellow centred Ice Follies


And my ULTIMATE favourite - Tahiti.

Please check my recipe blog - latest post is Strozzapreti with Spicy Italian Sausage, Broccoli and Garlic Crema 

10 comments:

Nadezda said...

I love tulips as well. Every fall I buy some packs of them and plant, plant. And every spring can't remember where I planted new tulips:))
I love your Parrot tulips, never seen before and will find them to plant. Of daffodils you have very lovely double ones on last photo!

Astrid said...

Hi Nadezda
Glad someone else is an absent-minded planter like me :)
I do love the double Tahiti daffodil. It's a beauty!
Astrid

Keity said...

What a lovely blog you have!
Happy to find your Blog today. So wonderful your pictures!

HELENE said...

Tulips and daffodils are spring to me too, and Dicentra, I saw you had some sneaking in on many of your photos :-)

It is a shame tulips don't last longer than they do, I am going to start planting some in large pots every autumn and simply discard after blooming every spring, instead of getting disappointed every year because half of the group of tulips are just leaves. Better to have few where all flowers than many with lots of leaves and little flowers.

I like parrot tulips too, yours are gorgeous! All my tulips are finished now, and most of the daffodils are gone too, just a few left in shadier areas. Now I am waiting for the roses!

Astrid said...

Welcome Keity! Thanks for the compliments. Your blog is very lovely too!
Astrid

Hi Helene
I transplanted a few Dicentra from the front to the back 2 years ago and this year they have really taken off. A great background to tulips. I saw a few of your roses in bud on your blog - can hardly wait to see them open.
Astrid

debsgarden said...

So gorgeous! Tulips are expensive annuals here, so I only plant a few once in a while. None this year, but I so enjoyed yours!

Alistair said...

The Tulips set off with the Brunnera, simply perfection.

Astrid said...

Hi Deb
Thanks! I always promise myself I will only plant daffodils because the squirrels dig up the tulip bulbs and eat them or plant them elsewhere. But every year I cave and get a few new ones anyway.There's often supposed to be a mass of one type and instead I only get 3 but well - I enjoy them anyway.
Astrid

Hi Alistair
Thank you so much! I know - some garden areas are just natural photo ops so I just go for it. I'm becoming totally obsessed with photography….
Astrid

Jennifer said...

I wish now I had planted a few more tulips! I especially like the red and white ones. Great header today, by the way!
P.S. Be sure to pop around and enter the Loblaw giveaway.

Astrid said...

Hi Jennifer
I wish I had more - I certainly planted lots but years, weather and rodents have brought the total down to a small eyeful.
Thx for the opportunity to win the Loblaws giveaway!
Astrid