Suddenly there were tulips.
I’d forgotten how quickly it happened last year. There was winter and it went on and on and on. The garden was bare. There were a few green leaves, but the air was cold and the soil was cold and nothing looked like it was growing. And then one morning there were lots of tulips. I had to rush around finding things to go with them in bunches. While the tulips are lightning fast almost everything else is hibernating. I remember using honeywort with my tulip bunches last year but it didn’t work. The honeywort was dark and dowdy looking, its flowers a pale purple and its leaves a long way from their iridescent best.
I have the same problem this year and hadn’t planned for it. My favourite leafy plant to pair with tulips is a variegated pelargonium. I have two small plants. I took cuttings from them but only a couple of weeks ago. They’ll grow quickly once everything starts to warm up.
The garden is on the cusp of exploding with spring flowers. The daffodils have started to flower, along with the Dutch Iris’s, a couple of ranunculus flowers and a handful of ‘Strawberry Blonde’ calendulas. And the hellebores. They are the calvary coming to my rescue. They’ve been flowering for weeks and weeks. They stop a bunch of flowers looking too upright. They add movement. But most importantly they’re beautiful and last a long time in the vase.
Here are my favourite foliage at the moment. Variegated pelargonium, variegated Hoheria (a tree) and a variegated euphorbia (photo below).
I got two beautiful and thoughtful surprises last week.
My oldest friend Ali made me a flower apron to wear in my mobile shop, Marigold. Perfect, perfect, perfect.
My friend Marion embroidered some marigolds to hang on a hook in Marigold. Love it.
Three cheers to wonderful, creative friends. Thanks Ali. Thanks Marion.
And because of the tulips I had to quickly get my roadside flower stall ready. It opened last week. At the moment I’m opening it every day and putting out a couple of large bunches in jars.
I finally got around to spraying my seedlings with my homemade comfrey and seaweed tea. I collect and store comfrey and seaweed in 2 plastic bins, one for each. I keep adding fresh seaweed and comfrey as it comes to hand, adding water. I collect the seaweed from the beach and the comfrey from my garden. I combine both brews in a container and pour it, along with lots of water, into my battery operated sprayer (best investment I’ve made).
Here’s a random list of things I’ve been pondering.
Lupins: I need to research the best method to grow lupins from seed. I’m having a terrible success rate. My lupin seeds don’t want to germinate. And I love lupins. I don’t understand why they’re so bloody fussy. The wild ones in the park don’t have any problems. They take over every sunny hillside.
Jars: I’m running out of large jars for my flower stall. I’m going to have to buy some. Up until now I’ve been using jars people have given me.
Viburnums: I want to find room for a few more of these pretty flowered shrubs.
Foliage plants: I love nandina and spirea foliage in arrangements. I’m going to buy more of them.
Summer flowers: when should I start sowing the seeds for my summer flowers?
Roses: surely I can fit in a few more rose bushes.
Space: where am I going to put all the shrubs I want?
Next Saturday is the BIG day. Marigold and I will be at the Paekākāriki Market from 10am to 2pm. And my friend Ali is going to give me a hand. I really really really hope it doesn’t rain.