The Big Players

The Big Players

Crazy, crazy weather, global warming and we’re having one of the coldest, wettest Mays in a long time here in southern Ontario with serious flooding in eastern Ontario, Quebec and around Canada.  In spite of the cold and rain, the spring blooms march on with the big players blowing their trumpets…tulips and daffodils.  Even though I’m Dutch, I’m not a big fan of the large tulips (gasp!).  They grow huge messy leaves that last forever and you have to leave them to die or the bulbs will perish and most of them only look good for a few years then slowly dwindle away.  I much prefer the smaller species tulips with their more delicate leaves and reliable show every spring.  If they are happy, they even spread, forming lovely colonies of colour

That being said, I can’t resist the curvaceous lily tulips that sway gracefully on long stems and seem to be more perennial in nature than some of the other ones. Westpoint has the added bonus of having a delicious scent, rare in tulips.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Yellow Westpoint and pink Mariette lily tulips with white Thalia daffodils

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Purple and white Ballade lily tulips with Gardenia daffodils and checkered lilies

On the other hand, I love all daffodils (Narcissus  family), big and small.  The dainty narcissus and jonquils generally bloom earlier and the larger daffodils close after.  Narcissus was the hunter in Greek mythology who fell in love with his own reflection and died staring at it!  Narcissistic means being self absorbed with one’s appearance but daffodils have every right to be proud!  They come in gorgeous shades of yellow, pink, peach and white now, with both single, double and even split trumpets and all are scented.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Double yellow daffodils

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Snowy white Thalia daffodils glowing in the spring sunshine

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Dainty pink tulipa clusiana Lady closed tight against the chilly morning air

Remember, all these bulbs are planted in the fall so mark some room in your garden and keep a list of the bulbs you love.  If you’re like me, I will have long forgotten their names and of course dig up last years bulbs when planting the new ones!!

Next, the Supporting Players…

Happy Gardening 🙂

Share This:

More to explore

In the Garden this month

The ground is still frozen but there are a few intrepid flowers that pop up as soon as possible in my zone

Cycle of Life

Out of the bare earth life springs anew

Trees turning orange and yellow, in the fall

Fall Scenes

Well here we are in the second wave of covid 19 and no relief in site. Hang in there everyone! On the

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Service Area

Acton, Georgetown, Halton Hills, Glen Williams, Milton, Brampton, Rockwood and Caledon.

Contact Us

(905) 965-3833
(905) 877-2575
writeme@gardengraces.ca

About

Garden Graces is a full service landscaping company, offering designs, planting and maintenance of your property.  We work together with experienced landscape contractors to create your perfect outdoor sanctuary.

Follow Us

Blog Update Email Signup

Scroll to Top