The Consumer's Floral and Garden World: My Summer Bulb Garden

So, I've talked about bulbs, a LOT. Now it's time for me to start getting into the 'nitty-gritty'. What am I doing personally?

Well, here's the low down.

I needed bulbs, so I got some this past weekend at work. I already have one gladiolus packet [around ten bulbs total, pink] and one dahlia [peach!] stored. What I really really wanted were some lilies, so I grabbed 2 bags of Asiatic 'Lollipop' Lilies, which is four plants, and Asiatic 'Liberation'. 'Lollipop' has white petals with blushed tips, and 'Liberation' is a gorgeous pink throughout. I had wanted the Stargazer as pictured in my last post, but someone bought them all while I had my back turned! That's okay, around Easter time the garden centers generally grow stargazers in pots, so I still have my chance. For Dahlias, I bought one Dinnerplate Dahlia called 'Peaches and Cream' [orange with white tips] and a Decorative Dahlia called 'Smokey'. The 'Smokey' is white petaled and looks like someone took a paint brush and splattered pink along each petal. It's beautiful! For Peony, I grabbed a pink, as pictured in my last post, and I also got a bag of Gladiolus Butterfly mixed. As a spur of the moment, I bought Caladium Fancy Leaf 'Pink Beauty'. This is a shade plant, and I have no experience with it yet. So we'll see.

Out of all of these bulbs, only the lilies and the peony can stay in the ground throughout the winter, and I'm not looking forward to storing them when the time comes. To put that in perspective, out of the twenty-three I just told you about, sixteen will need to be dug up. That's twenty seven, when you count the bulbs I already own!

Anyways, I need a lot more than just the bulbs themselves to make this work. I have the knowledge, but not the materials. A bulb planter isn't necessary, but would be nice, along with a knee pad. My knees always kill me after a day in the garden, and I'm supposed to be young and spritely! What is necessary is pesticides because lilies and dahlias are very well known for their difficulty in this area, but I have to be careful with the peony! You shouldn't use any pesticides that will kill ants because the peony bud needs ants crawling and chewing at it to loosen it up. Otherwise, you won't see many, if any, flowers. Whatever you do, read the labels, and if possible, exclude the peony from pesticide treatment. I also need mulch, which will be a huge, and expensive, undertaking, but I can't afford the battle with weeds this year. Possibly the most important has to be plant supports, but first I need to decide what kind of supports to use. Lastly, a fertilizer would be a good idea.

The List
Caladium - Light shade or indirect sun; remove ALL flowers and spent leaves; remove bulb before frost
Peonia - Remove spent flowers; remove bulb before frost
Butterfly Gladiolus - Best to plant in groups; mulch to conserve water; support plant and protect from strong winds
Lilium Asiatic - Sun or part shade; remove faded flowers; do not cut back stems until autumn, and don't dig up bulb
Dahlia Decorative/Dinnerplate - Remove before frost

Pictures