This weekend marks the spring equinox and it’s all happening out there. The species tulips are coming into flower with their subtle, delicate beauty. They are joined by China blue periwinkles, dwarf narcissi and grape hyacinths.
As ever I am joining in with The Propagator and his joyful crew showing six things from our gardens this weekend
1. Tulipa turkestanica
The Turkestan tulip is native to Central Asia. I love the way that it opens up into these pretty stars during the day, then closes up tightly at night.
2. Tulipa sylvestris
Another species tulip, the wild tulip has slightly larger canary yellow flowers which bend over as if in conversation.
3. Jolly red tulip
I can’t remember the name of this crimson tulip which I planted a row of but I love the way it opens up shamelessly to expose its sepals and tepals – reminds me of a film I watched on my RHS level 2 course called The Sex Lives of Plants.
4. Comfrey
It is always a delight to see the white bell flowers of comfrey. Once they’ve gone over I will steep the leaves to make ‘comfrey tea’ fertiliser.
5. Grape hyacinths
I planted these as an edging to our path a few years ago and for the most part they are still coming up year after year.
6. Muscari armeniacum ‘Valerie Finnis’
I planted these paler blue grape hyacinths in a matching pale blue pot in the autumn. This blue is my very favourite colour and sings to me of spring.
That tulip is what I would call a VERY LOUD red. Beautiful.
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The first tulips are out! Here also I have two varieties of them in flower. Tulipa turkestanicae also bloom for a week but unfortunately the slugs or snails nibbled them … so I didn’t take a picture of them.
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An appropriately spring-like six with some lovely Muscari and Tulips, already! I am especially fond of the delicate Tulipa sylvestris, and the comfrey is lovely – often overlooked as ‘coarse’ but the flowers are not in the least.
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I am a great fan of comfrey not to be confused with my arch enemy green alkanet which has similar leaves.
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I planted some turkestanica in grass and they never did very well. Yours look very happy there. Sun has been in short supply here this week but it’s lovely to see flowers open up like that when the sun does come out.
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Nice to see your comfrey. I’m noticing the leaves locally, but so far no flowers.
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Yes I think we are a little ahead here.
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Grape hyacinth is rad! For years since the late 1970s, I tried to eradicate it from my mother’s garden. I perceived it to be an invasive weed. By the time I learned to appreciate it, it was gone! I felt so badly for eliminating every last bit of it just before learning to like it. . . until I found a single bulb that somehow survived in a patch of weeds for a few years after I though I had eliminated all the rest. It was just a tease though, to make me feel badly for killing so much of it. It languished for a few years before finally dying. Then (!), I just recently found a significant colony of it! Now I have four pots of it, and it is quite healthy! It is the simply and plain old fashioned sort , which is my favorite. If I ever get another variety, it will just be the equally simple, but white version, ‘Alba’.
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I made the same mistake with Japanese anemones in our old garden – now I rather like them!
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Did any survive after you realized that?
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The species tulips I planted in the ground never appeared after the first year. I have planted some in containers this time and yet to see them emerge. I keep looking! Some of my other tulips are already in flower / bud! It’s always a tentative time of year waiting to see what comes back and what has died.
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I don’t think they like getting wet feet. We are on chalk so very free draining and tulips tend to last a long time.
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Not the right plants for my soil then.
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Lovely bulbs, my mother had those red tulips and called them Cottage Tulips.
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Great name!
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The texture of the comfrey leaf is incredible. What are the advantages of comfrey tea?
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It’s just a really good all round fertiliser – you have to steep the leaves in water for around six weeks. It gets pretty smelly though (like something has died!)
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A very fine selection of tulips. In fact, a fine selection of spring bulbs in general! ‘Valarie Finnis’ looks to be a very nice shade of blue.
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