BulbWatch 2008 Starts Today!

Welcome to BulbWatch 08! (que the music and cable news style graphic.) This is where we start tracking the bulbs we got at the home and garden show.

Last Sunday we planted most everything we got at the show.
Today I noticed the first of the bulbs is sprouting already! I thought it would be fun to think of it as competition - a competition to determine which bulbs we buy again next year.

What we have in the the picture is the Fangio Red Lilly. It is clearly the early front runner. It gets big points for coming out in front. Fast results we like that, however it is a long road until the end of the growing season. Can it maintain the early lead? Or will it bloom and fade away before summer is over? Stay Tuned for more after the break!

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Let us continue our BulbWatch 08 coverage by looking at the field of candidates.
As you can see the ballot is pretty full. $22 worth of full. (As you can see there is a lot riding on this)

Fangio Red Lilly - Location: Mixed Pot, Back Yard
Oriental Lilly (Aubade) - Location: Mixed Pot, Back Yard
Oriental Lilly (Casa Blanca) - Location: Single Pot, Back Yard
Acidanthera X2 (Peacock Lilly) - Location: Single Pot Back Yard, Around Tree Fillmore Street.
Red "Flame" Cala Lilly - Location: Single Pot, Back Yard
Crocosmia X2 (Geroge Davidson Yellow) - Location: Single Pot Back Yard, Around Tree Fillmore Street.
AMARYLLIS BELLADONNA (Naked Ladies Surprise)- Location: Single Pot, Back Yard
Begonia (Apricot) X2 - Location: Single Pot, Back Yard, Stone Container, Back Yard
Dahlia (Marlene Joy) - Location: Single Pot, Back Yard, One To Be Planted

Over the next 6 months we will be closely following the growth of these bulbs as well the ones from last years show that have sprouted again. Which will succeed? Which will perish? Which will I buy again? Which will I dismiss as folly? So much is on the line. So many questions.... So few answers. Join us on this amazing journey as we start with the the Fangio Red Lily. Keep tuning in for updates!

Deja Vu

Seems like there is some sort of Deja Vu going on here in our corner of the world...
This weekend was the Home and Garden show at the Cow Palace.
It was this time last year when we rediscovered the joy of planting bulbs. Readers of this blog will remember my tales of growing the lilies we purchased last year at this show. Despite all of that I knew I wanted to try again.

This year I knew I wanted to to try out some new bulbs. I think I contained myself. I only spent $22. We picked up some begonia tubers and several lilies and even a Acidanthera. This year we decided that growing lilies behind our apartment building is the way to go. (Not so many grumples back there.)

I talked to the people at vanveenbulbs.com and told them how much I enjoyed the Asiatic Lily last year and they pointed me to the CasaBlanca.
They told me that this was the "mother of all lilies!" Well how am I going to say no to that. It turns out this bulb could grow five feet! The blooms could be 10" That is insane! I have to try this. I planted it in a very deep pot out back and I am sure if it works out you will be hearing about it. What I love a bout bulbs is that you really get a big pay off for doing a little bit of work.

Well if standing at the same bulb counter at the same garden show was not enough I came home and saw this
Last year I knew planting these lilies around the trees was probably not a wise move if I wanted them to last so I dug up the bulbs and planted them somewhere else. I had pretty much for gotten about them as they did not look to healthy when I planted them. But it seems mother nature has worked her magic and they are back for another season. It seems there are now 5! One more than last year. Here we go again! The year seems to be repeating itself. Hopefully this time with better outcomes!

Daffodil Days

Thanks to those magical bulbs the Daffodils have started blooming on the street! Wow I have to say they look great. The combination of seeing these bloom and the last tow sunny days have really done wonders for my mood. Spring is starting to arrive! More shots of these yellow beauties can be found on our Flickr page.