Advice request

[baymule]

They should be fine. I really don't feel qualified about that though. You see, we look at snow and ice in pictures. Bulb flowers come up in fall to mid winter and bloom in late winter to early early spring here in east Texas. But they really should be ok in your climate too.

 

[Smiles Jr.]

An update on my new flower bed . . .

Wow! It's turning out better than I thought it would.

 

[lesa]

Well, Smiles it looks okay... but I think you should have mixed the colors!! My Mother traveled to those flower fields (maybe Dutch, I can't remember). She was heartbroken, because they cut the flowers right off- so the bulbs save their energy. Since, it is the bulbs they are selling, not the blooms... I don't think I could do that job!

 

[Southern Gardener]

Wow! It did turn out great!!

 

[digitS']

You had me going there, Smiles. As I slowly scrolled down the page rereading, I was wondering how you could have any update in January.

My family name is Dutch altho' I have no idea when they really stopped being Dutch-Americans because they were so mixed up with their neighbors. I also have to be happy to have a Dutch name because they are so many that sound so very silly in English . Yes, it takes a little leavening to go thru life with my Dutch name.

The Mormons do a service for the lazy genealogists amongst us and have informed the world that the 1st American with my family name came in colonial times just as the tulip mania was taking off back home.

Anyway, the town of Mount Vernon in Washington State has some lovely tulip fields.

Faas van de Vaart's digitS'

 

[catjac1975]

Maybe you should have left a little lawn for the kids to play.

An update on my new flower bed . . .

Wow! It's turning out better than I thought it would.



http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a12/Charlos/Netherlandsflowers02_zps6286cfe1.jpg

 

[ducks4you]

A warning about 4 o'clocks. They are toxic to your animals. In fact, I grew some last year in hanging baskets specifically bc Japanese Beetles love to eat them, and then they die. Keeping them up high kept them away from my cats. Very pretty though. There is a local Monical's restaurant that always buys wave petunias and plants them in boxes, about 3 ft. off of the ground. By September they look like a gushing river. Just a thought to add to the other good suggestions.

 

[Mickey328]

My all time favorite flower is iris...the tall, medium and dwarf bearded ones. They're quite tolerant of neglect and different soil and a fair bit of drought. They do need to be dug and divided every 3 years or so, but that's about all the maintenance they need.

For bees, I'd look more at things to simply plant around the yard or in the garden...dill, borage, oregano...actually they love most herbs. They're very fond of clover as well, which we're putting in this year both for bees and to use for feed for the rabbits and chickens.

We always seem to have a lot of bees around our Bachelor's Buttons as well. They're an annual but they self seed generously. I put in one packet of seed about 5 years ago and have more now than I did that first year, LOL.

 

[April Manier]

I like black eyed Susans. They are so friendly and easy...if its a sunny spot.

I like lilies (a bulb) for fragrance in July.

I think butterfly weed is a no-no. Tooooo big (12 ft)! But monarda is lovely and carefree. You just need to pull out some of her volunteers come late spring. I like the purple.

Some herbs around your borders like thyme and oregano smell really nice--especially when your dogs trample it.

Lavender is nice, but really only lasts 5 years. Bees love it.

Leave a space or two for annuals. Once you enjoy your flowers you will enjoy poking in something different around the edges each year for a different look.

I can't imagine life without flowers...

Oh you must have a rose. Get a rugosa as they are easy.