Hello SPRING!

Yay!  First group of crocus blooms yesterday!  Daffodils are emerging.  Hyacinths are emerging!  I have 5 flats of various veggies and flowers started in flats indoors!

Crocuses:

 

 I should mention that I didn't plant 5 bulbs in that pattern.  I plant in groups of 7-20.  That one is a small group where a few died.  If they had all survived, it would have been generally a circle.

I went around the yard and woods today looking for the first emerging Spring bulbs.  I mark them with landscaping flags so that I don't step on them while walking around.

Here is a picture of the flags so far.  There will be more to emerge, but those others aren't peeking up yet...

Most of those are bunches of daffodils 7-20 in a spot.  I think they average about 10 initially planted bulbs so I'm guessing I have 1,000 planted bulbs.  But many have multiplied, so I probably have about 3.000 stems.

And that's not counting the 1,000 that I planted in a dense bed farther back in the yard.  There are about 500 spots and they have multiplied for 15 years.  I think I actually need to thin them because too many stems do not bloom due to crowding.

I would guess that I had about 6,000 daffodil blooms last year and this year will be about the same.  It is impressive when most are in bloom at one time.  I have early/mid.late bloomers, but at the midpoint, there is a sea of blooms.  I like that!

I've given up on tulips.  They only last a couple of years around here and they last less these days than 20 years ago.  Global warming...

The hyacinths are more durable than tulips but less so than daffodils.  They are good for about 5-8 years depending on sunlight and drainage.  They don't like wet roots but tolerate it for many years.  But they die eventually.

The tulips and hyacinths also die out due to vole predation.  I have moles.  They don't eat bulbs, but voles use the mole tunnels and they do eat bulbs.  Daffodils are toxic to herbivores like voles but tulips and hyacinths are not.

I have planted more daffodils up along the rising backyard...

This year, I am going to identify pathways through the woods.  Plants in the way of the paths will be pulled or dug up and replanted.  Available spots for Fall plantings will be marked with paver stones set at ground level (I need to be able to mow down grasses and weeds).

I hope to get around to establishing paths using edging borders, landscape barrier cloth, and hardwood chips.

I can't wait for the daffodils to be in bloom in April!