Has the area gotten more shady?

>> They are annuals here. Most bulbs just won't take warm, wet winters.

Bummer! The giant hyacinths were mostly one-year bulbs, except for a few individuals that won't die, but neither do they put out many blooms.

The daffs petered out almost a quickly.

I thought the crocuses were spreading!

The ones I like least (grape hyacinths) are doing the best.

Someone told me to forget about tulips, but one red tulip has been coming back for three years at least.

>> Has the area gotten more shady?

I think not, in fact if anything less shady becuase the park took out one tree and a neighbor took out another.

MAYBE a nearby azalea and rhodie have grown more than I thought, but I thought I was pruning them back to around their original size.

I was trying to guess whether that part of the spring was warming up faster or slower or getting colder, and in which years, but I don't recall.

The soil in the bed was poor-but-recently-amended the first year. Perhaps the organic content has been going down (I haven't added as much compost as would be ideal). But it sure supports vigorous weeds and a lavatera bush last summer. Even the lettuce I tried for the first time last fall did pretty well.

Carol - thanks for the reminder that crocuses do not necessarily come back every year in California. I guess I won't be planting them here. I also tend to only plant things that come back year after year. I am too lazy of a gardener to plant new bulbs every year. So, I will just have to look at everyone else's photos.

Corey - a few of my tulips come back for a few years. But, they always croak at some point. So, no more tulips for me too.

Irises come back fairly regularly. Guess I may be cheating since rhizomes are not technically bulbs? This particular variety starts blooming in November and continues now. Most of the bearded irises I have are spring bloomers so this early bloomer is extra special to me.

Sweet iris.

Rick, it sounds to me like the lack of sunny days may have something to do with your Crocuses. I recall some years when spring was constantly cloudy or rainy, and mine didn't put on much of a show, although they bloomed just fine. They tend to remain tightly closed unless the sun is out, and many aren't showy at all when they're closed.

I had not thought about crocuses not blooming, it is probably too warm here for them, drat!
Anyhow, this being my first year with Hyacinths I am really happy with them, they are such a nice addition to the garden. So far I have not decided my favorite color, but my least favorite so far is what I thought was white (till the white actually stated blooming) so maybe it was suppose to be pale yellow, what ever it is suppose to be it just looks like the color faded on it.

It might not be too warm for crocus there. Why don't you buy some this fall and try them? Crocus are really inexpensive at the Big Box Stores and Discount Nurseries.

I think I will check around here and see if anyone is growing them, I don't remember seeing them in mass plantings like Tulips and other bulbs. But maybe individual gardeners are growing them in beds. I just haven't noticed any, but then they would be so low it would be hard to see them.

Neal,
That makes complete sense. It has been cloudy since they bloomed. And "closed tight" is a good description, like huddling against cold (thought its not that cold!)

I think the "lying down and dying" phase was just due to two days of unusually heavy rain, and they came back from that a little. Standing part-way back up, at least.

I love hyacinths, especially giant hyacinths. But they were very unwilling to come back even one year for me, and the few that did decided that they didn't need to show many blooms (bloomlets? florets?). "Not dead yet" was enough for them.


Seedfork,
I love the colors on Crocus vernus after they open.
Darn! I only have photos of the closed ones.

Some of @dirtdorphins ' photos above look like Crocus vernus: purple outside, white throat, and gold or yellow internal parts.

I guess mine are actually called "Giant Dutch Crocus, because the variety is 'Flower Record'

Giant Dutch Crocus (Crocus vernus 'Flower Record')




The first year I planted fall bulbs, I gave them the best drainage I could and had beginners luck.

Love the blue, none of mine are blue!

That's my favorite color hyacinth, too.

Around the same time, I had one Giant Pacific Delphinium that was pale blue with lavender accents. It amazed me for several years in a row, getting bigger and better, then totally died one winter.

Looks like spring has come to you.

For the past three days it had been really warm here, positively balmy. Today the really bad deep freeze is back. It is so chilly with the wind blowing that I am not even going to walk around to see if any more crocus have opened up and are blooming.

Thanks to ALL who have been posting pictures of spring blooms! This winters weather has been brutal for early blooming plants and I am appreciative of any plant that defies the weather and puts on a show. I live in zone 7a, central AR, and have never been able to grow tulips or hyacinths. They bloom the first year and then each year dwindle to nothing. I can grow daffs and crocus and they are blooming and I am sooooo happy! I had a few hyacinths gifted to me several years ago and they are still coming up with big blooms. Perhaps the newer varieties can thrive in warmer winters? This last winter was very cold but the two before were warm.

Bonnie, in your zone I would look at species tulips and ones from the Greigii class of tulips. They come back nicely, even multiply.

http://www.johnscheepers.com/f...

Thank you Rita. I remember as a child, still living in this zone, my mother grew small red tulips and I loved them. It is hard to find the species types since all the huge tulips seem to be the choice of most people. I will look at some of the bulb growers this fall to see if I can find some from the Greigii class. It would be a real treat to have red tulips growing in my garden!

Look at Scheepers. Link I gave you. I buy there all the time. Along about mid May they will update so one can start ordering for the fall.

I put in many of the Greigii tulips they list last fall so I am really looking forward to seeing them this spring.

I will. and thank you again Rita. I look forward to seeing pictures of your tulips and rounding out my spring bloom with some red tulips.....hopefully.

I just love tulips. They are my favorite flowers. But then I like all sorts of spring bulbs.

Nothing outside yet, but...