Tulipmania!
Photo credit: Baltimore Sun/Susan Reimer
I once planted 150 tulip bulbs in my yard and not a single one came up the following spring.
There were several voles lying on their backs and patting their stomachs, but not a single tulip.
I tried planting bulbs in containers, too. But the containers with the water reservoirs that are so helpful during a long, hot summer held too much water in the winter and the bulbs rotted.
I had pretty much given up on tulips and instead planted lots of daffodils. Voles hate them and they multiply like mad.
But I had a conversation last fall with Anna Pavord, the British author of "Bulb," an extraordinary book filled with beautiful pictures of all manner of bulbs, and was inspired to try again.
So I bought some end-of-season sale tulip bulbs so my financial invesment would not be very great, and I planted them in containers with absolutely TONS of drainage. I covered the tops with Soil Perfector, a kind of small gravel material designed to keep rodents from digging for my bulbs.
I didn't have much hope. Forty inches of snow will do that to you. I thought the bulbs would rot again this winter in their pots on the deck.
But lo and behold, I am seeing the tips of tulips! And that's a lot further than I ever got before in this process!
I plan to take Anna's advice and place the pots in bare spots in the garden. I will let you know how it turns out!
