Dear Internet,
I bought a pot of six tulips at King Soopers last week. They are exploding today on my dining room table as it snows outside. I have been a very amateur horticulturalist since a very young age. My grandmother first recognized my green thumb when I planted flowers from seed in a spot near a propane gas tank where flowers had never grown.
Every year I plant several hundred tulip, daffodil, and crocus bulbs in my yard. Very soon now they will start popping up . Last fall I completely turned the soil, added peat moss, sheep manure, then covered the dirt with 4 inches of leaves to keep the squirrels away during the winter. I will have to rake off some of the leaves so the shoots don't come up elongated.
My winter pansies, johnny jump ups and petunias seem to have survived the winter and they too will be in full bloom by Easter. But it is the Bulbs who truly provide a symphony of color. At the intersection of highway 36 near my house on a barren triangle of dirt I planted 100 mixed bulbs. I tried last year...with a few bulbs, but no go. This year I put in plenty of good soil. We shall see. The bane of every tulip bulb are squirrels. Once they bloom deer like to eat them. None of the critters like daffodils.
Added to this mix are my 8 bird feeders which attract song birds, magpies ( they look like nuns) and a host of birds. Some days in the spring my yard looks like Disney's animated film "Song of the South". Our neighborhood has many cats who come to watch (hunt) the birds. I have to go out and talk to them. Birders hate cats. But I love cats so I set boundaries by using a garden hose to discourage any errant feline. We have an understanding. Look but don't touch. So it is fairly amusing to watch the perimeter of my yard daily to see a cat or two sitting watching. But none of that is happening today however as the snow comes down. Yesterday was a wet spring snow. Today it is a bit more powdery.............. but soon.
from Americas most famous small city
Jann Scott
Boulder Colorado
351 days left in project
No comments:
Post a Comment