Love, love, love tulips.

I can't believe how many 'hidden treasures' you had!

Please don't ask me which I like best: they are all gorgeous and many of them unknown to me.

Oh wowww!! Love that 'Fire bed"!! Those are my colors!

The Fire bed is really strutting her stuff today Neal! T. linifolia & T.clusiana var. chrysantha are to die for!!! Be still my beating heart.

But then ALL the beds are really looking gorgeous & those colorful pots really do pop things up.

I would just love to plop myself down right smack in the middle of everything and just zen out.

Deb, for years I didn't purchase tulips because return can be iffy, but I missed the rainbow of colors so much. I started picking up species varieties and found many to be reliable perennials, then started getting some Darwin hybrids that are good for repeat bloom. I finally gave in and got several late singles, and I'm so glad I did- they're so tall and elegant and available in such a wide range of colors. I plan to dig them after the foliage matures and store the bulbs for summer. I have read and heard personal accounts of folks getting bloom for many years treating them this way. I assume you're a bit too far south for them? (unless using precooled bulbs).

I have never really tried to keep them. The Dallas Arboretum is literally a straight 7-mile shot down the road from me and they have a massive tulip display every year...and I have never been. Shame on me.

Neal, I love the purple pots, I can see that you have put a lot of work and thought into everything you did with your gardens, just beautiful.

Thanks Margaret! I painted all those pots 3 years ago, and have been surprised at how well they have held up.

Neal, did you use latex or oil based paint?

I used exterior latex, but first I cleaned the clay pots and set them inside (by the wood stove), and allowed them to dry really well for 2 or 3 days. Then I used Killz primer inside and out, and again allowed them to cure by the stove for a couple of days. Then 2 coats of exterior latex, inside and out, allowing a day to cure between coats. Then I let them cure for at least a week before potting.

Thank you. You were real smart using the Kilz. I bet that's the big secret to the success.

gemini_sage said:


T.clusiana var. chrysantha

Me likey! I think this one is fascinating. Does it grow well? I have bad luck with tulips, but I now have a new sunny garden to work with!

lovemyhouse said:I have never really tried to keep them. The Dallas Arboretum is literally a straight 7-mile shot down the road from me and they have a massive tulip display every year...and I have never been. Shame on me.

Don't feel bad Debra. I have the Sarah P. Duke Gardens about a mile away and I rarely get there. Used to go all the time before they charged for parking, etc. About now is perfect with the wisteria and spring blooms. I was thinking I should go see what they have done to the iris garden.

Leslie, the clusiana types are good perenializers here and I've heard good reports from other southern gardeners on them too. Brent and Becky's is in Virginia, and say they perform well in the gardens there.

Simply spectacular! Thank you so much for sharing and annotating! Just beautiful!

Thanks Julie!

Thanks for sharing your Spring Parade Neal. I have avoiding planting tulips for a few years now too, but after looking at your garden, think I may give in and order some next fall. I hat to dig them up after one year, but things are planted so close together in my garden that they seem to get in the way if I don't dig them. Love the color of your house!

Thanks Susan! The up side of digging them is storing the bulbs dry during summer and replanting in fall stimulates them to bloom year after year. I plan to dig all the late singles and plant annuals in their place.

That will be quite a chore Neal as you have so many.

gemini_sage said:Deb, for years I didn't purchase tulips because return can be iffy, but I missed the rainbow of colors so much. I started picking up species varieties and found many to be reliable perennials, then started getting some Darwin hybrids that are good for repeat bloom. I finally gave in and got several late singles, and I'm so glad I did- they're so tall and elegant and available in such a wide range of colors. I plan to dig them after the foliage matures and store the bulbs for summer. I have read and heard personal accounts of folks getting bloom for many years treating them this way. I assume you're a bit too far south for them? (unless using precooled bulbs).

Tulips will bloom, here--I think they just don't come back. But they ARE so beautiful that it might be worth getting into the habit of Fall planting, knowing they won't last into the second year. Hyacinths do return (as witnessed across the street, anyway ) and I like those, too.

http://www.dallasarboretum.org...