Autumn Weekend Gardening Project

Autumn is the best time to plant spring flowering bulbs so they can grow roots in the winter and bloom in the spring. This weekend I planted a dozen white daffodils in my little cottage garden. In the spring, these little daffodil bulbs will bloom flowers with ivory petals and a center corral rim.  

I always thought flower bulbs would not be compatible in my drought-tolerant Southern California cottage garden because they were better suited in a garden with long and cold winters, like the Netherlands, where millions of bulbs are cultivated and exported annually. However, after reading about bulbs, I learned that they are native to regions all over the world with varying lengths and degrees of winters.  For example, tulips have origins in Russia, Greece, China and Turkey; wild dahlias are native to Mexico; amaryllis are native to South America; freesias are from South Africa; and wild lilies are grown in China, Japan and North America. 

Planting and growing flower bulbs is easy and includes three basic steps: (1) dig a small hole, (2) place the bulb in the ground with the bud facing up, (3) cover the hole and water.  They can be planted in the ground or in pots.  The Pacific Bulb Society is a wonderful resource for growing bulb flowers. My next project will be planting some tulip bulbs in December. 

Happy gardening! 🌻