Summer bulb roulette…

I haven’t blogged for a while. I don’t know why, maybe I don’t have much to say at the moment or maybe I just don’t need the stress. Today though, I have been thinking forward to summer and it made me want to tell you about it.

There have been signs of spring despite all the rain; a smattering of sunshine and long-tailed tits skittering around the feeders in Wales. I’ve put up another couple of nesting boxes in the holly tree and I have the scratches on my arms to prove it. Going up the ladders to fix the boxes has become a major challenge it seems, but if I get a pair of nesting blue tits – or even sparrows – it’ll be worth it.

Back at home my thoughts have turned to summer planting. I like to grow from scratch rather than raid the garden centre for an instant garden and this year I am trying something I’ve never really tried before. Over the last few weeks I’ve been planting summer bulbs. I’ve planted so many and in so many varieties that this morning, when I was positioning the latest couple of hundred, I kept meeting the couple of hundred I planted last week.

I didn't realise that I'd bought so many, they covered my garden table and only cost a tenner. Most of my bulbs have come from discount stores or pound shops and because of my lack of a planting plan I have no idea what is where, how the back yard will look when the bulbs come into their own, or even how much in total I have spent. This is new for me and I feel quite excited at the ‘risks’ I am taking.

The only rules that I've used are to plant in odd numbered clumps closely together ignoring the instructions and making sure that the smaller bulbs (oxalis, sparaxis, alium) are at the front of the border, taller ones (callianthus, homereia, ixia) behind them in the middle, and the lilies and really tall stuff at the back. I’ve also planted a few ‘specimen’ bulbs in strategic places, pots, and baskets (Peruvian daffodils, trailing begonia, tuberosa, mirabilis, crocosmia Lucifer).

I’ve lost count of how many bulbs I’ve planted, even forgotten some of the varieties as I foolishly didn’t keep all the labels. It’s a bit like playing gardening roulette and I have no clear picture in my head how it will look.

Of course I will still grow my sunflowers (some things can’t not be done) but I’m hoping that my experimental bulb garden will pretty much take care of itself. Time will tell I’m sure, but if they all come to flower it should at least be a colourful backyard this summer.