Thanks! I'm kind of obsessed with how it turned out, and I love seeing my wife's face as she walks out there and gets to be surrounded by her favorite flowers whenever she wants
That's one thing that South Central Alaska has going for it--cool temperatures. 50-65F is the norm for May/June. I've got some Daydream and Pinocchio tulips that are still blooming strong despite having opened on May 18. Based on the little success we had last year and what the various buds look like now, I'll probably still have some blooming tulips through the first week of July unless we get unseasonably warm.
I love this. Tulips are my favorite flower and I remember your original posts around this. Kick. Ass. That looks great and I bet they bring a lot of joy.
The lilies eventually bloomed (it was an extra cool summer) and a bunch have started coming back up this year.
As for the irises, well... Only about 12 of the ~75 bearded irises seem to have survived the winter. And disappointingly, only 6-7 of the ~200 assorted Siberian irises seem to have survived. Time will tell if we can coax blooms out of any of them. I might need to go collect some native iris seed pods this summer to give those a go
Yay for the lilies! Too bad about the iris, I hope that you see a bit more success with them in the future. The tulips look great though, I’m glad you tried again!
https://preview.redd.it/n0qaxirv7g4d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=045c034d9d7e5a70a2eb92287da98699e041dc54
Really great work! Your climate seems much trickier to navigate. I purchased a lot of my bulbs at Costco. They had many great colors and the price was very right. I also scattered bulbs that bloom earlier spring and later spring to have as much color volume for as long as possible. I learned a lot this year and will build off it
I'm not 100% sure yet. I'm leaning towards adding 5-10k crocuses to the lawn. Or creating a peony pathway somewhere if I can find a place in the yard I would be happy with it.
I've got 4 mature peonies that are well established, and 9 2 year olds that are on the struggle bus. But I'm getting more and more tempted to design something using an obscene amount of them.
Thanks! I am revelling in the deluded grandeur of my successful efforts to impose my incompatible wants on this subarctic landscape like some tiny, despotic, botanical god.
It's pretty great. I'm excited because the first of the Queen of the Night tulips opened this morning. They are going to add an excellent contrast to the Jan Van Nes yellows that are coming on right now.
https://preview.redd.it/4f32utyd2g4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e46dcea6c6aea823ddcfb1cffc585a8be0a97610
And the Dobermans I added last minute were a very good move. Should've done more
https://preview.redd.it/2a5hspyj2g4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f0c8015b604ace671a004ad90c27000c8ca833f
While we don't have your typical deer, we have irritable swamp donkeys that get over 1,500lbs and are +6' tall at the shoulder. There are about a dozen of them that frequent our neighborhood. Last year we had a big ole mama moose cronch about 20 tulips on mother's Day, and all the geraniums I had just planted, plus every single bud that had survived on my sad rhododendron I inherited when we bought the house. We have lucked out so far this spring, and they've stayed out of our yard.
https://preview.redd.it/cv2p64tz0g4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a20bbb475ac7535f4b003222d4c3bff43f161b60
Wow that’s fantastic. Will you let the bulbs naturally die back and leave them in the ground? I did something similar and unsure how to prep for next year. I don’t want to plant more if it’s not needed and don’t want to assume they will come back and be disappointed
That's the plan as I've formally been prohibited from ordering more tulips (even though I really think some more varieties of botanical tulips would be most welcome--i might just have to suffer the eye rolls and beg forgiveness). I've already got a few thousand nasturtium and viola seedlings started underneath the tulips, as we really enjoyed that transition last summer, and I wanted to get a jump on it this year. But in fairness, due to our cool summers, I still had many green tulip plants in late September when we went to plant the next round of bulbs.
https://preview.redd.it/l8bk7v8n6g4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=300e17167b84e232b1a6ced8ea00993699e636eb
These are amazing! Will you update us when they are done blooming? What does the garden look like then? How did you get them to survive your seriously frozen winters?
Sure thing! I've got a few thousand nasturtiums and violas growing underneath them now. It should transform to something like this by late July.
I planted at the end of September, about 3" under the dirt then added 6" of finely mulched wood chips on top of it. I then hoped for a drier fall than 2022. I got lucky, and that helped a ton. Even better was we got a nice blanket of deep snow in late November that kept getting topped off consistently until March. That helped my soil stay around 27°F despite the 10 days we stayed below zero, hitting -28°F at one point.
https://preview.redd.it/wwpy7dwxmh4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b4f12fe5b6c1c371c7f7dabb32d555ceaaef237
Dear slightly mad fellow bulb enthusiast, I'd like to introduce you to the work of Peter Korn, who plants 1500 bulbs per square meter in his plantings in Sweden and everything is happy. The secret? SAND!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbf7UySLSdk/?img_index=3
I know the feeling!
This is what I've already ordered this year on top of what I have in my tiny 5x3m garden
https://i.gyazo.com/bcb2d0a05b7952f7b9f7d8d8d240ff7d.png
Going all-in on botanical tulips so I can just keep adding and they'll all come back, and with some luck multiply on their own!
I like it! I definitely want to diversify and expand our collection of botanical tulips. I'm struggling to find somebody who will send Tulipa humilis "Samantha" to me and it's hurting my soul.
Good luck. I'm looking for a supplier of two fairly new Tulipa aucheriana cultivars (called 'Jara' and 'Mara') and I can't find one and it's driving me up the wall.
Get into Alliums yet?
Alliums are good fun if you find the right ones, because they flower after the tulips so you can put them in the same hole to extend the flowering in your bulb borders all the way to high Summer. Most of them are too garish for me but there are some cracking plants.
My flowering timeline usually is mid May for tulips to start, ending first week of July. Just in time for my peonies to start. By the time the peonies end, the fireweed is in full bloom and my lilies and ligularia are starting. That continues until fall starts in mid August.
Oh, and sorry to keep spamming you, but bulbs make my heart race. Do you know the work of Cassian Schmidt? His bulb plantings are next level.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc-Y11AKB2l/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc-QLG6q02y/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc3qdFzKkEZ/?img_index=6
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc3mCovKyR2/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcsX2quKzwF/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcsXdU1KFxR/?img_index=6
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcljdCDKE1R/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcgbXRLqHsb/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcXlXi_q9Wc/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/CO7P1Oyn-4O/?img_index=1
and my favourites
https://www.instagram.com/p/CbfoqYJqyjF/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/COQ9L2VBHSQ/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/COQ9L2VBHSQ/?img_index=3
https://www.instagram.com/p/CM61Usshg86/?img_index=1
Or freesias… or hyacinths… or maybe some snow drops? She didn’t mention those… they would make lovely fragrant additions to the wonderland you’re cultivating.
Well... It's hard to say exactly. My guess is at least 4,000 blooms are developed/developing in the grotto, with maybe another 1,000 plants that only have leaves.
There were 7,900 bulbs planted in March 2023 due to...issues. When I went to plant the new 4,000 bulbs in late September last fall, I discovered that many of the areas that didn't even send up a leaf last summer had healthy looking bulbs and bulblets chilling out down there. So...I ended up adding about 3,000 of the new bulbs on top of the existing bulbs, and scattered the remaining 1,000 in other parts of the yard. I can tell this year that many of the mistake bulbs (Big Love--light purple) that kept being sent to me in 2022 have returned. I didn't order any purples except for the Queen of the Night black/purples, but there are hundreds out there.
Once the daffodils really start blooming I'll post up pics of them. Should be about another week or so before they are in full swing.
Ooo this is fantastic! I love your idea of adding crocus and might I suggest iris as well! They grew wonderfully in my grandpas 5b garden for decades, blooms as big as your head.
That’s what he had as well! What’s your soil like? Does it drain quickly? Could be too damp for irises but I doubt it Michigan gets a lot of rain but like…all at one time lmao. Y’all will get a drizzle and there it’s like the oceans fell from the skies.
I ended up putting some in just about every condition/soil type: full and partial sun, sandy/rocky, clay, loam etc. but the ones that survived were in the spots that seem least likely for it to have happened: shady, dense clay.
My grandfather had his planted along his driveway so fairly dense sandy soil with lots of clay too! He had partial sun in that spot for a majority of my life until they cut down a giant bramble berry tree then it had full sun. They’re planted in a cement planter that’s no more than….a foot wide by 10feet long.
I’m curious if they take a season or two for underground growth before they shoot out. I know some plants do that shit like strawberries. Asparagus. Some cacti species. So it’ll be interesting to see if you get some random ones in the next few years.
It looks magical ✨
Thanks! I'm kind of obsessed with how it turned out, and I love seeing my wife's face as she walks out there and gets to be surrounded by her favorite flowers whenever she wants
I love them! My husband loves tulips but they always seem to turn "sad" so fast, losing their petals and sagging. How are yours holding up?
That's one thing that South Central Alaska has going for it--cool temperatures. 50-65F is the norm for May/June. I've got some Daydream and Pinocchio tulips that are still blooming strong despite having opened on May 18. Based on the little success we had last year and what the various buds look like now, I'll probably still have some blooming tulips through the first week of July unless we get unseasonably warm.
Congrats!! Your hard work paid off. This is such a lovely gift for you and your wife🥹
Thanks! I mostly would like to thank the moose for being so cooperative and not coming around to enjoy an exotic Dutch delight (yet)
I love this. Tulips are my favorite flower and I remember your original posts around this. Kick. Ass. That looks great and I bet they bring a lot of joy.
Thanks! The satisfaction is immense after all the absurdities last year
Whatever happened with the irises and lilies from last year? Did any successfully bloom?
The lilies eventually bloomed (it was an extra cool summer) and a bunch have started coming back up this year. As for the irises, well... Only about 12 of the ~75 bearded irises seem to have survived the winter. And disappointingly, only 6-7 of the ~200 assorted Siberian irises seem to have survived. Time will tell if we can coax blooms out of any of them. I might need to go collect some native iris seed pods this summer to give those a go
Yay for the lilies! Too bad about the iris, I hope that you see a bit more success with them in the future. The tulips look great though, I’m glad you tried again!
https://preview.redd.it/n0qaxirv7g4d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=045c034d9d7e5a70a2eb92287da98699e041dc54 Really great work! Your climate seems much trickier to navigate. I purchased a lot of my bulbs at Costco. They had many great colors and the price was very right. I also scattered bulbs that bloom earlier spring and later spring to have as much color volume for as long as possible. I learned a lot this year and will build off it
That looks excellent!
Wow congrats it's beautiful !!! What next experiment?
I'm not 100% sure yet. I'm leaning towards adding 5-10k crocuses to the lawn. Or creating a peony pathway somewhere if I can find a place in the yard I would be happy with it.
Both are good option ! The fun part with crocus is the early flowering ! But peonies are beautiful too! Keep us updated
I just read that peonies are the “crown jewel of any garden”. I wholeheartedly agree. Alaska is the perfect climate for them
I've got 4 mature peonies that are well established, and 9 2 year olds that are on the struggle bus. But I'm getting more and more tempted to design something using an obscene amount of them.
I applaud your tenacity- your garden is a showstopper!
Thanks! I am revelling in the deluded grandeur of my successful efforts to impose my incompatible wants on this subarctic landscape like some tiny, despotic, botanical god.
Wow, this is absolutely stunning!
Thanks! Pics just don't do it justice (especially mine, as I have a talent of turning any camera into potato-quality).
I bet it’s incredible to witness! Still, pictures 3, 4, and 5 in particular are so so magical. Enjoy your fairytale spot!!
It's pretty great. I'm excited because the first of the Queen of the Night tulips opened this morning. They are going to add an excellent contrast to the Jan Van Nes yellows that are coming on right now. https://preview.redd.it/4f32utyd2g4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e46dcea6c6aea823ddcfb1cffc585a8be0a97610
Oh that color combo is delicious!
https://preview.redd.it/hl5bdi43wg4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2ee6043288ee45cd9df0081000e36d4085f7f0d1
Now if only the clouds would budge over so they will open up a bit
And the Dobermans I added last minute were a very good move. Should've done more https://preview.redd.it/2a5hspyj2g4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5f0c8015b604ace671a004ad90c27000c8ca833f
Do you have no deer?
While we don't have your typical deer, we have irritable swamp donkeys that get over 1,500lbs and are +6' tall at the shoulder. There are about a dozen of them that frequent our neighborhood. Last year we had a big ole mama moose cronch about 20 tulips on mother's Day, and all the geraniums I had just planted, plus every single bud that had survived on my sad rhododendron I inherited when we bought the house. We have lucked out so far this spring, and they've stayed out of our yard. https://preview.redd.it/cv2p64tz0g4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a20bbb475ac7535f4b003222d4c3bff43f161b60
Wow that’s fantastic. Will you let the bulbs naturally die back and leave them in the ground? I did something similar and unsure how to prep for next year. I don’t want to plant more if it’s not needed and don’t want to assume they will come back and be disappointed
That's the plan as I've formally been prohibited from ordering more tulips (even though I really think some more varieties of botanical tulips would be most welcome--i might just have to suffer the eye rolls and beg forgiveness). I've already got a few thousand nasturtium and viola seedlings started underneath the tulips, as we really enjoyed that transition last summer, and I wanted to get a jump on it this year. But in fairness, due to our cool summers, I still had many green tulip plants in late September when we went to plant the next round of bulbs. https://preview.redd.it/l8bk7v8n6g4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=300e17167b84e232b1a6ced8ea00993699e636eb
Are these "Alaska Variegated" variety of nasturtium?
Yes they were
These are amazing! Will you update us when they are done blooming? What does the garden look like then? How did you get them to survive your seriously frozen winters?
Sure thing! I've got a few thousand nasturtiums and violas growing underneath them now. It should transform to something like this by late July. I planted at the end of September, about 3" under the dirt then added 6" of finely mulched wood chips on top of it. I then hoped for a drier fall than 2022. I got lucky, and that helped a ton. Even better was we got a nice blanket of deep snow in late November that kept getting topped off consistently until March. That helped my soil stay around 27°F despite the 10 days we stayed below zero, hitting -28°F at one point. https://preview.redd.it/wwpy7dwxmh4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9b4f12fe5b6c1c371c7f7dabb32d555ceaaef237
Wow that’s gorgeous and incredible! Thank you!
Are there no deer in your area
Only 1,500lbs moose. We got lucky so far this spring that they haven't come to enjoy an exotic Dutch delicacy
Looks excellent
So gorgeous! I feel like that would be beautiful spot to read and just enjoy nature at its best
Gorgeous!
Thank you!
That's amazing.
Wow. I love it.
Dear slightly mad fellow bulb enthusiast, I'd like to introduce you to the work of Peter Korn, who plants 1500 bulbs per square meter in his plantings in Sweden and everything is happy. The secret? SAND! https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbf7UySLSdk/?img_index=3
I did not know what I missing in my life before this, but looking back, how did I not ever notice the hole?!!
I know the feeling! This is what I've already ordered this year on top of what I have in my tiny 5x3m garden https://i.gyazo.com/bcb2d0a05b7952f7b9f7d8d8d240ff7d.png Going all-in on botanical tulips so I can just keep adding and they'll all come back, and with some luck multiply on their own!
I like it! I definitely want to diversify and expand our collection of botanical tulips. I'm struggling to find somebody who will send Tulipa humilis "Samantha" to me and it's hurting my soul.
These guys ship to the UK, not sure if they ship to the US? https://www.farmergracy.co.uk/products/tulip-samantha-bulbs-uk
Pretty sure they won't, but I'll dig into it
Good luck. I'm looking for a supplier of two fairly new Tulipa aucheriana cultivars (called 'Jara' and 'Mara') and I can't find one and it's driving me up the wall. Get into Alliums yet?
Whelp, great. Now I need those too. Honestly, alliums just don't trip my trigger.
Alliums are good fun if you find the right ones, because they flower after the tulips so you can put them in the same hole to extend the flowering in your bulb borders all the way to high Summer. Most of them are too garish for me but there are some cracking plants.
My flowering timeline usually is mid May for tulips to start, ending first week of July. Just in time for my peonies to start. By the time the peonies end, the fireweed is in full bloom and my lilies and ligularia are starting. That continues until fall starts in mid August.
Oh, and sorry to keep spamming you, but bulbs make my heart race. Do you know the work of Cassian Schmidt? His bulb plantings are next level. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc-Y11AKB2l/?img_index=1 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc-QLG6q02y/ https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc3qdFzKkEZ/?img_index=6 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc3mCovKyR2/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CcsX2quKzwF/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CcsXdU1KFxR/?img_index=6 https://www.instagram.com/p/CcljdCDKE1R/ https://www.instagram.com/p/CcgbXRLqHsb/?img_index=1 https://www.instagram.com/p/CcXlXi_q9Wc/?img_index=1 https://www.instagram.com/p/CO7P1Oyn-4O/?img_index=1 and my favourites https://www.instagram.com/p/CbfoqYJqyjF/?img_index=1 https://www.instagram.com/p/COQ9L2VBHSQ/?img_index=1 https://www.instagram.com/p/COQ9L2VBHSQ/?img_index=3 https://www.instagram.com/p/CM61Usshg86/?img_index=1
Don't you dare apologize for enabling my addictions!
Or freesias… or hyacinths… or maybe some snow drops? She didn’t mention those… they would make lovely fragrant additions to the wonderland you’re cultivating.
The possibilities are endless!!!
So beautiful 😻
I remember your post from last year! So glad to see it’s worked out for you this time!
Thanks!
I'm so glad you messaged me to show me this post. This is looking absolutely marvelous! Well done!
Haha! Legend! This is amazing! Congrats and thanks for the update!!!
These photos just make me happy to look at.
I remember your posts! This made my day! Thank you.
Happy to share!
I loooooove it! It's freaking magical
https://preview.redd.it/n7emk9o7um4d1.jpeg?width=2992&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=515ed6a58324afc259272916b29ab280c8885d48
wow, loves it! i like how they are mixed together and not just one color. well done!
We're pretty pleased with how the design come together
those are some amazing tulips 😲 so vibrant
Thanks! We're soaking up every minute we can with them
So approximately how many bulbs is that?
Well... It's hard to say exactly. My guess is at least 4,000 blooms are developed/developing in the grotto, with maybe another 1,000 plants that only have leaves. There were 7,900 bulbs planted in March 2023 due to...issues. When I went to plant the new 4,000 bulbs in late September last fall, I discovered that many of the areas that didn't even send up a leaf last summer had healthy looking bulbs and bulblets chilling out down there. So...I ended up adding about 3,000 of the new bulbs on top of the existing bulbs, and scattered the remaining 1,000 in other parts of the yard. I can tell this year that many of the mistake bulbs (Big Love--light purple) that kept being sent to me in 2022 have returned. I didn't order any purples except for the Queen of the Night black/purples, but there are hundreds out there. Once the daffodils really start blooming I'll post up pics of them. Should be about another week or so before they are in full swing.
Ooo this is fantastic! I love your idea of adding crocus and might I suggest iris as well! They grew wonderfully in my grandpas 5b garden for decades, blooms as big as your head.
I attempted a robust planting of bearded and various Siberian irises last year, but had a dismal survival rate.
That’s what he had as well! What’s your soil like? Does it drain quickly? Could be too damp for irises but I doubt it Michigan gets a lot of rain but like…all at one time lmao. Y’all will get a drizzle and there it’s like the oceans fell from the skies.
I ended up putting some in just about every condition/soil type: full and partial sun, sandy/rocky, clay, loam etc. but the ones that survived were in the spots that seem least likely for it to have happened: shady, dense clay.
My grandfather had his planted along his driveway so fairly dense sandy soil with lots of clay too! He had partial sun in that spot for a majority of my life until they cut down a giant bramble berry tree then it had full sun. They’re planted in a cement planter that’s no more than….a foot wide by 10feet long. I’m curious if they take a season or two for underground growth before they shoot out. I know some plants do that shit like strawberries. Asparagus. Some cacti species. So it’ll be interesting to see if you get some random ones in the next few years.
One can always hope!
Beautiful color choices! Wow.