The garden blogging ended as the drought really took hold last summer. Water restrictions here were only recently lifted as the rains are finally coming. I've got several beauties ready to be planted, but it looks like the ground will be too wet for digging for a while.
In the meantime, though, the garden is coming alive. Some of the daffodils have already come and gone. The tulips have only just began to bloom. Above is a pink one with highlighting on the petal edges (from a bag of mixed tulips that came as a bonus with an order from Blooming Bulb the fall before last). I'm surprised - pleasantly of course! - to see this guy back. I've bought mainly species tulips as I haven't expected others to be able to handle the combo of our clay soils and mild winters.
This fragrant tulip with the charcoal eye is Little Beauty - a carefree species tulip. Species tulips are those that occur naturally in the wild. They tend to not be as fussy as the hybrids they have spawned - and return more reliably without being lifted. Now if only I could find a tulip the critters around here wouldn't consider a tasty snack!
