tulips

I Have A Thing For Bicolor Bulbs, Especially Tulips

August 22, 2016 by Ilona Erwin

We all have our weaknesses, and one of mine is for those bicolor tulips that have a rim of one color and central color of another. while solid colors make a strong statement in the landscape view, the striking look of two colors suits me best.

Three Examples

One way I like to see these flowers in the garden are in the company of a harmonious lowgrowing perennial. One that picks up the lighter of the two colors.
If a two tone of red and white is planted, then one of the white flowered perennials like Arabis would be pretty.

Other Perennial Companions

Phlox subulata
Alyssum (Aurinia) saxatile
Arenaria montana
Ajuga
Aubrieta deltoidea
Bergenia

Plant Companions For Bicolor Bulbs

Besides perennials that echo the color of one of the hues, a solid color companion is probably best. Strong green foliage background may be the ideal foil, but plants that provide a frame and not a pattern competition allows the two tone blooms to stand out.

Another good companion is a solid color in a similar type of tulip. Bringing out one of the shades or contrasting altogether. This is where you color sense comes into play. Just be sure to match up flowering times and heights when planting tulips for this kind of display.

The Spring Ephemerals

Perennials that bloom in spring and then fade from the scene are called “ephemerals”. Virginia bluebells, Bleeding hearts, are two of the best known. Their foliage is an attractive match with flowering bulbs. The two tone bleeding hearts in cherry red and white look well with similar bicolor flowers.

The Bluebells have a fantastic blue and pinkish color with lush green leaves which looks especially pretty with pinks, but harmonizes with other colors, too. These two plants grow well with spring bulbs.

In The Landscape

Sometimes a flower or plant looks wonderful close at hand, but its qualities are lost when viewed in the overall landscape. Tulips tend to stand out. Their colors make a powerful impact on the impression even when viewed from the a distance.

Two tone, bicolor tulips tend to blend in distance viewing, but many still retain some feeling of shade distinction. I think it is always an attractive result. It might even be a better look than the solid tones, giving the effect of outlining the individual blooms.

Bulb Planting Rules

The rule of thumb is to plant no less than 10 in a group, preferably 20. It is more important to effect for the bicolor varieties. a larger group enhances their qualities, but too small a number looks lonely and small. So be sure to plant a proper sized group of them. If you add a blooming perennial at their feet, I think you will really like the picture that creates in your garden plan.

Are you planning on planting tulips this fall? what do you think of the bicolor varieties?

Here Is Hope For A Beautiful Spring

March 10, 2015 by Ilona Erwin

From a previous year

It turned the corner here in the Central Ohio area. Patches of snow are all that are left after the warming temperatures and rains. I will have to post some of my older, but still beautiful, spring photos in celebration.

Outside it is a bit dreary and I need to pick up the remainder of the hot tub canvas cover, etc. I will, as soon as I am done working on what seems to be mushrooming work both on the computer and inside the house.

That is where we get that old saying: “When it rains, it pours”. Everything is building up and can just wait so long before it takes on its irresistible power and momentum.

Get ready for it, because that is the nature of Spring!

Lenten Roses from previous years

The Inside Garden

I didn’t mind the cold as much as most people because it is always my time for reflection, for puttering on the internet, for getting into the insides of code and gain understanding and facility with computer work.

I also wrote a bit more than usual.

Example is this post on Evernote, a really useful app for alll your devices, from phone to Pc to iPad.
I reactivated the TrueGrit blog, which is one of my oldest blogging projects. Where I learned to use WordPress (and Movable type before that). It isn’t ready for prime time yet, though, since I just learned how to make the domain name go to the proper place, import old posts (over 2000) and am now updating their structure, editing, deleting, and trying to get the posts and photos to find each other!

But I find I do want to write on some of the topics that I used to. The spiritual ones, not the political ones.

I am also thinking about moving this entire blog to a new home on wordpress with a new domain name. I haven’t committed to it yet.

I wrote about those tulips I planted a couple years ago.

The Actual Garden

Outside I have my work cut out for me. The vegetable beds were left in disarray last year, so I have lots to do before I can plant this season.

There is plenty of pruning to do, since I couldn’t manage to face the frigid temperatures. Not healthy for me, either. But my sabbatical from gardening now means it is time to make the outdoors one of my regularly scheduled activities.

Such a wimp, that is what I’ve become.

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© 2015 written for Ilona’s Garden Journal by Ilona E. An excellent blog.

Tulip Trials

October 9, 2006 by Ilona Erwin

Every fall gardeners buy tulips, and every spring I read blog posts complaining about tulips.

-so says Kathy of Cold Climate Gardening.

It is time to read the fine print on tulip growing, and Kathy gives some pointers to think about.
I’ve written about tulips and I’m one of those people that loves them and grows them. I do have to say that I grow far less of tulipa than I used to when living in the city and gardening on what was formerly woodland ground.

You can learn two ways in this business of gardening: trial and error, or research. Most of us have a mix of the two. My main addition to what Kathy had to say on the topic is that there are varieties of tulips that are more long lasting than others, as long as they get the basic growing conditions she talked about.

As in everything gardening, if you are not sure, just start out small, maybe have a trial garden space (I had one of those, which eventually turned into a permanent garden bed).

Quick steps to planting tulipsHow To Plant Tulips Reminder

What kind of complaints are usually registered against tulips?

The foliage, which must remain after blooming for the next years flowers. People don’t like the clunky leaves withering in the garden. Solution? Over plant with perennials that leaf out later than the flowers but before the leaves of the bulbs become an eyesore. ( Hostas or daylilies, for example).

They run out. No, not as in “sprouting legs”, but they don’t flower, and then don’t show up at all, in following years. Solution: plant “perennial types”.

Those are the two main complaints, provided that the gardener did not plant them in a poorly drained or too shady spot.

Want to read my thoughts on tulips?

|Think Bulbs|
|Just Tulips|

All my garden articles are found on my Ilona’s Garden site under its own domain…

Tags: tulips

Ritual of Planting Spring Bulbs

October 17, 2003 by Ilona Erwin

I planted my tulips and crocus today, finally. The Triumph tulip that I planted was called ‘Red Lips’. It has a white base with red edges. Sort of the reverse of ‘Merry Widow’ or ‘Lucky Strike’. I have a thing for red and white tulips.

I seem to have lost my gusto for planting the bulbs though. But that is probably just the effect of a troubled mind. Unfortunately that is probably just what it is.

Anyway, it was a good day for planting even though the soil was a bit heavy. My husband helped again by digging out a young maple and placing it elsewhere. I appreciated that. He did the whole process by himself, the planting even! Peat moss, watering…. the whole bit.

I removed some more dead annuals and potted up the vining geraniums (pelargoniums). oops-forgot to get the dahlias tucked away in the basement…. oh well, I will do that tomorrow.

Now that I am thinking of the dahlias, when I dug them up I noticed that the one planted closest to the fennel, even though it bloomed very well, had a stunted, almost non-existent, rootstock. I have read that fennel is inhibiting to other plants growth, and this seems so from the poor dahlia. I am saving it and replanting next year, if possible, anyway. It was a beautiful lavender decorative with purplish leaves. One of the “redskin” varieties (which they all were this year).

Most of my plants are safely in, we are due for a bit of cold and the rest of fall will be chancy now. Only a few really outstanding things I need to do outside this year. I think. I am probably mistaken, but I hope I don’t realize it ’til tomorrow. What was that phrase Scarlett O’ Hara used? “Tomorrow, I’ll think about it tomorrow….” Just another variation on “Mañana“.