Great Year of Tulips

Very last of my cuttings

This certainly was a great year for tulips. As I've mentioned before, I've planted over two hundred bulbs this year and had such great results. I had about 180 cuttings this year. It's such a luxury to have tulips arrangements all over the house in early spring. So why not plant them this fall and have gorgeous blooms to enjoy for next spring? As long as you don't buy the rarer varieties of tulips, the bulbs are inexpensive, so start from there and work your way up. 

petite tulips and snowbells

I'm going to briefly tell you how I plant my tulips. 



1. Choose plump and firm tulip bulbs. Do not plant a bulb that is soft or shriveled, as it may be rotten or dead inside. Peel off all the skin on the bulbs (You don't have to do this, but this is something I always do.) 


2. Tulips grow in most soils but if the soil is very dry, plant the bulbs a day after it has rained. The ideal site should be sunny or lightly shaded. Remove any weeds or stones and use a fork or trowel to loosen and aerate the soil.


3. Use a trowel to dig a hole large enough to fit all of the bulbs that you are planting. The depth of the hole should be twice the length of the bulb itself. You can also plant them in groups of 2 or 3 depending on what you want.


4. Loosen the soil inside the hole to help the roots grow more easily. Sprinkle some lime and mix into the soil. And remember that the bulbs must be planted with the tip pointing upwards.


5. Position the bulbs in a random pattern 2 - 3 times their width apart. Bulbs can be planted together in one hole if you have an open, empty flower bed, or individual holes can be made using a bulb planter.


6. Using your hands, gently draw the soil across the bulbs, taking care not to move them.


7. Press the soil down with your fingers.


8. Unless the ground is very dry, there is no need to water the bulbs. Newly planted bulbs may rot if the soil becomes sodden and waterlogged. There should be enough rain through the autumn and winter to provide your bulbs with enough moisture.

Easter Baskets

I know that Easter has past a while back, but just wanted to upload some info and pics of the Easter basket I made for my nieces and for my friends kids.

Easter is a spring festival that celebrates the central event of the Christian faith: the resurrection of Christ three days after his death by crucifixion. Easter is the oldest Christian holiday and the most important day of the church year. All the Christian movable feasts and the entire liturgical year of worship are arranged around Easter.


The origins of the word "Easter" are not certain, but probably derive from Estre, an Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. The German word Ostern has the same derivation, but most other languages follow the Greek term used by the early Christians: pascha, from the Hebrew pesach (Passover).

Ostara

A note on the godess of spring, legend has it that Ostara, the godess of Spring, in a fit of anger changed a bird into a bunny. This might explain why the Easter bunny builds a nest and fills it with colored eggs. 


I had some felt and pink gingham laying around the house, so I decided to make an easter basket for my friends' kids and for my nieces. This was such a great project. It's not the hardest thing to make and the final product is adorable. 

This is the finished and packed easter basket for L&S, filled with cookies, candy, bib, German imported painting kit and a tulip and pansy tussie mussie bouquet. 

These baskets were for my nieces. I used a very pretty light green fabric with daisy embroidery on it. The baskets were filled with cookies, marshmallow peeps, jelly belly, chocolate bunny, bubble blowing kit, German imported water color kit and matching pink tops. Below is the picture of the bunny's cotton tail, isn't it SO cute?

Why not make one for your kids or kids you know for next year? They'll love it!

Flower of the Week / 今週の花

primula vulgaris

Primrose

Today, I'm gonna introduce you all to three different genus of plants called primula or primrose as they are commonly known.These primroses bloom in the early spring in most places. They're a colorful, happy looking flowers. Primroses, if you didn't know, were extremely popular in the 19th century. As the industrial revolution occurred, people came from the country to the city to work in great big smokey factories and pollution became, kind of an everyday event in everybody's lives. The primrose that they brought from the country withstood the soot and the dirt of the city life and they became a very popular flower.
 

auricula

Just as tulips were know as the flower that drove men mad and orchids turned men into thieves, primroses turned queen Victoria into a romantic. She gave primrose wreaths to everyone including her prime minister Disraeli. As they were hybridized and glorified, the primrose took on a very big stature. Nowadays, they're common, they're extremely inexpensive, a little primula vulgaris will cost anywhere from ¥70 to ¥150 at the grocery store. But as you get into the rarer types of primroses, like the very beautiful primula auricula and the drumstick primrose, you can expect to pay up to ¥1300. The primula auricula was developed in the 19th century and they were even made into porcelain because of it's beauty.

Primrose, by the way, means primus in Latin. It comes from that word, which means first and from the Italian, primarossa, which means first rose. They're not really roses, but I guess if you look at them and think flower, than rossa is a good enough name for them.
 

denticulata

The drumstick primrose, aka primula denticulata is beautiful and the tall head kind of wave in the breeze and the leaves are not the real furry leaves, but they're nicely articulated on the edge a little bit of a sew-tooth edge.

Make sure you plant primroses in nice organic soil, in shade and make sure you give them plenty of water. And the primroses with grow and thrive and next year, they'll be more primroses all around the area you've planted.