Wow!
Thank you all so very much!
Neal, the days run into each other and so do the years, but I think they were planted in...fall 2013--yup--that has to be the case because that was lawn in 2012.
They do very well here each one o'them clumps was a single bulb, pretty soon I'll get to spread some around

My foray into tulipdom was a huge success. These are all Darwin hybrids, I had no IDEA that the cups could get that huge. I planted these for the hubby, he chooses a different favorite every day.


These were supposed to be Charlotte Bishop ipheon which are pink. Nope.


Avalanche

Sir Winston Churchill

These were supposed to be SWC daffs also but they are a cute little double mini. Does anyone have a clue as to what it is? I can't take pics well when holding the flower in one hand and the camera in the other. Yes we'll just go with that.

Kabby!
I have a different favorite everyday too
I don't know what your little double daff might be--it's a cute surprise
mislabeled bulbs --and plants--really frustrate me sometimes, but, ipheon is so cool you'll just have to get more

Kabby,
Your Tulips look fantastic, let me know how long they last in this warm weather. I planted a few last year, and I got no returns this spring.

I used to think I didn't like iris'. . . .until I saw the error of my ways! William, your reticulated irises are beautiful!

I took my camera outside and took pics. . some proudly with their future growth in my mind but some as an example of a disastrous disaster! And then I saw Dirt's gorgeous pics. . . not just healthy, beautiful flowers but the artistic arrangements! Some day. . . . .

The disaster: the pic next to my name (<<<<<) was my Spring Bulb Garden in 2015. This is now:


The interior daffodils are no more; almost all of the bulbs rotted because I watered the zinnias I planted that summer. The scattered green foliage in the interior are giant ornamental onion Schubertii; those next to the wall are also allium, but Gladiator. Will ALL spring bulbs rot with summer water or just daffodils? This summer, I have Red Velour Tidal Wave Petunias for this area. I'm thinking of digging up, curing and re-planting all susceptible interior bulb (plus the few surviving daffy's) and planting the interioor with perennial evergreen plants....suggestions?

Successes:
grape hyacinth did as expected


the central row of Improved King Alfred daffodils prevented the prevalent horde of squirrels from munching on my Royal Hyacinth bulbs, but the disaster of my Spring Bulb Garden / summer annuals has me worried: here, too, I HAD planned on putting in annuals that'll need moderate watering. . .don't do it??



My side garden, having filtered sun, is for my hellebores - not bulbs. They arrived in 3-inch pots, in two's and threes each of the last 5 years, to fill up their designated garden. There's alot of bare ground that I'm having to wait for them to fill with their mature size. Three just went thru their first winter and won't bloom for another year . . or two; my oldest blooms its stalks off, but unfortunately it's a wild mutt (harvested/saved by a road construction crew).

I'm going to go check on my seedlings!!

BetNC, I've never watered my alliums, but they seem to last only two or three years tops. My Schbertii only lasted one year. I hear that alliums multiply best in sandy soil, whereas daffodils and muscari can handle clay soil.

Oh no Bet! I am so sorry!

Almost all of the spring-blooming/summer-dormant bulbs need relative dryness when they are dormant (some of the shade lovers don't like to totally dry out, but even they don't like drowning)
--many can handle quite a bit of summer water in very well drained soil and some can handle less well drained soil if there are lots of thirsty roots to take up the water such that the dormant bulbs are never soggy. Big deep, drinkers like trees and shrubs work well.
I know many folks succeed with annuals over perennial bulbs--if you don't have very well drained soil there I suppose that you could dig the bulbs up and store them dry when you plant the annuals and then replant in the fall. (I can't be disciplined enough for that kinda thing--but it works) I find also that planting them deeper than suggested seems to help me too, but I also have that winter thing going on every year.

Alliums--some are like weeds for me, I can't eradicate them and I wonder what I was thinking when I planted them--others, I have given my best drained soil and still they still won't cooperate

Bet I understand where you are coming from with the watering. I am more worried about my lilies not coming back rather than my daffs. In one bed, Quail and Minnow daffs haven't made an appearance but in another bed Minnow is trying to bloom. My schubertii allium that I planted last fall hadn't shown up yet.
I have to water. Daylilies, phlox, cannas, EEs, gingers, they all demand that I do it in addition to any annuals. My iris resent it. I'm pondering a small all iris bed to get away from excessive watering. So I'll make notes and try not to leave the soil excessively wet. I do have good drainage.

@Seedfork Larry it's already started, the losing of petals. It will be an adventure seeing if they come back next year. I'm glad I did it even if they aren't long lived.

Dirt I love ipheon and they smell divine!

Kabby, your spring show is beautiful! Check the miniature section of Brent and Becky's offerings- I recall a little white double daffodil that looked like your noid- its adorable!

Bet, so sorry to hear of the poor return of your bulbs. We had a very wet summer last year and I've noticed among several daffs planted in 2014 there were some no shows. The only ones completely lost were some of the white heirlooms from Old House gardens- of course, since they were the most expensive

Dirt said it well- some bulbs tolerate more moisture during dormancy than others. The surprising thing is that daffs are typically among the most tolerant, but that depends on the variety somewhat too. Like Dirt, I also have mature tree roots that seem to usurp excess water during times I irrigate.

Originally, my planting areas were bare ground next to my building where grass was not grown (typical red clay soil). After I put in borders to delineate flower beds (THIS is for flowers, THAT is for creeping grass!!!), I've had the flower beds amended annually for the past 5-6 years with organic matter (usually pine bark mulch or whatever I had left over from the previous year: cow manure, spaghum peat moss, MG garden soil ONCE, humus, store-bought compost, used coffee grounds etc). This was dug in to a depth of one foot.

I think now I have well-draining soil (but I'm not stopping my annual soil amending: I want loamy soil!!). When rain water makes lakes and ponds atop the grass,, my flower beds look well-watered but without any pools of water! Also, when I first started, my flower beds had NO worms. . . . now, simply by turning over a few shovels of soil, I get enough to go fishing!!!

I think I should revise my plans to plant chinese asters (for summer blooming / int4erest) on top of the hyacinth bed: I don't want to destroy IT, too. What do y'all think about putting a plantar atop this area for summer and planting annuals in IT? Would watrering the plants in the planter go down and rot my bulbs?

I use containers on top of bulbs during the summer and it works well. Some water seeps from the drainage holes, but it typically isn't enough to saturate the soil very deeply. I think that would be a great idea for your hyacinth bed.

A few days of sunny weather and temps in the 70s has really brought on the blooms!
This is my "sky garden" with hyacinth Blue Jacket and daffodils Tete a tete, Ice King, Jack Snipe, Wisley, and Cassata.



Rip Van Winkle


Wisley


Mary Gay Lirette


Jack Snipe


Carlton

Forgot to add Topolino

Kabby said:
These were supposed to be Charlotte Bishop ipheon which are pink. Nope.

Beautiful blooms !

No, sure doesn't look like Charlotte Bishop. However even if you get hold of some bulbs of the real thing, you may get disappointed.
In my garden it's almost always more white than pink and will only rarely have some good color.

Neal, many thanks for sharing the daffodil extravaganza
Very natural looking planting which really appeals to my tastes.
It must be so great taking a walk in your daffodils garden, well garden is a to small word, you have a whole field full

Bet, glad you enjoyed the reticulated irises
I haven't tried it myself, but many actually grow these in a pot with a gritty mix so that might be an idea for you, if you have trouble keeping bulbs in ground.

To facilitate summer lifting of bulbs it can be great to use bulb plant trays, especially if the area is small. I do this myself. Just remember that many,-especially small bulbs are best stored in some dry sand, as they may dry out too much otherwise.

I agree on the advice to look for some bulbs that would be likely to tolerate a bit more moisture and to give you some ideas, you could try some Erythronium, snowdrops and why not some Fritillaria meleagris.

Topolino was my first daffodil to bloom outside this year. Jetfire, Ice Follies, and some others have since commenced to bloom. I would be remiss not to mention Iris Reticulata and several crocus cultivars blooming. Pics so far leave a lot to be desired.

I still have a few stray daffodils blooming, but very few. The hyacinths I planted last year were a total failure this year.
The amaryllis I planted a couple of years ago are doing very well.

Jack, your order of bloom was the same as here. I think Lent Lily daffs actually started first, which is typically the case here. Do you grow Lent Lily (N. pseudonarcissus)?

Larry, your amaryllis look great- I love seeing them growing in the ground! Did no hyacinths show?

One did show, but it was very puny and almost no blooms.