Daffodils

I wasn't just working on the hose reel platform this week.  I was planting daffodils too.  And a LOT of them.

The original plantings looked like this...

One quarter daffodils...  I decided to complete the circle this fall (avoiding where I had planted tulips and hyacinths in vole-proof metal cages) 2 years ago.  I ordered 500 daffodil bulbs and they arrived 3 weeks ago.  I looked at them all and said "OMG, WHAT was I thinking"?  How could I ever plant so many?

It took 2 hours per day for 4 days.  First, I thank technology for drill augers!


Attached to an electric drill, you can get fast holes  for bulbs to go into.  They even cut some small roots and lift out small rocks.  It takes some work, but works better than those cylinder push-down bulb-planters in rough soil.

I kept track of where I planted bulbs from day to day by surrounding the planted area with bright yellow nylon marine rope and leaving the closest row of bulbs unburied.

And I had to do some exploratory digging.  I had covered the tulip and hyacinth cages with cardboard cut to size and pinned with tent pegs.  And the whole are was covered with black plastic sheeting to smother the weeds and keep the bulbs dry (which they like).

But even then, I was surprised to discover that some of the cardboard markers rotted and some were loosened when a windstorm came through right after I removed the plastic.  Sad timing.  But the tent pegs were still there and I spend a whole afternoon finding them.  Which allowed me to replicate where the cardboard covers had been,

The recreated covers looked like this...

I planted all the new daffodil bulbs around the cardboard covers the other 3/4 on the bed.

Almost.  I came short a 6'x5' section at the end.  Home Depot had 40 bulb bags on clearance.  Most were blends and I didn't want THAT!  But I found ONE bag of one kind (King Alfred) and JUST barely filled up that last area.

Bed Complete!

But I had some in some tubs that needed a permanent space.  That's tomorrow...