Princess Alexia seems to have very saturated color. I like the pastel tones of Foxtrot, even though in general I am not enthusiastic about double tulips. Plato is a good contrast to all those hot-colored tulips.

Who has experience with narcissus Decoy? Are the flowers well above the foliage? How do the colors evolve, and does it hold reasonably well?

I grew Decoy for years, and don't recall if I saw it this year- hmm... Anyhow, it is decent about showing off its blooms and holds them just above the foliage. Nice deep coral color that doesn't fade badly.

@gemini_sage Came over to see more beautiful daffodil pictures and you folks didn't disappoint. I grow very few daffs now but used to belong to the Daffodil Society and attended two shows in Southern Long Island years ago. Pipit and Hawera were two of my favorites. Peeping Tom and Spellbinder were two others. Daffodil bulb fly is definitely a problem for me so most of my bulbs are gone and can't remember what the two remaining clumps are.

Thanks Charlotte! I sure hope the bulb fly doesn't show up here, its heartbreaking to watch them all disappear.

I have more bulbs blooming. I feel late to the party - you all have had blooms weeks and weeks ahead of me

The tulips bloomed this second year, but definitely not anywhere near the show that they were last year. I'll either try the method Neal mentioned or just start treating tulips as annuals. At least the deer aren't eating them
China Town


Purple Prince


Ballade


And some daffodils
Hawera


Misty Glen

Yesterday I noted these Div, 3 (small-cupped) daffodils in the garden.


Also, first allium
(surrounded by a sea of weeds)

Terri! That's a good showing for 2nd year tulips!

A few late blooms here :
Mint Julip


Merle's Favorite


Camassia

Jack, are those some of the Twin Sisters daffodils I sent? They're blooming here too.

Yes, good call Neal! Here's me, scratching my head walking around, 'Now where'd those come from'? I think I'm getting a bit lax as the years go passing by (good blues song). I'd not even made a map note. Those doubles should be in that area as well.

Camassia

Alliums
< Early Emperor


Nectaroscordum This one is really lifting high (halfway up a 7 ft. fence (normally a couple of feet).

Are alliums another one of those bulbs that seem to be a one season thing? I planted Gladiator and Purple Sensation - they made quite a show last year, but this year like the tulips, not all have returned and the ones that have don't look very robust at all.

Some have better luck than others with return of large alliums. It had been several years since I'd grown any, but got some last year during the end of season sale. In the past I had the same results you saw Terri, but that was in my previous garden where there was more moisture that may have been the issue. This time I've planted them where silver maple tree roots keep things dryer in summer. That situation has been great for some other bulbs that prefer dry dormancy, so we shall see next year.

Early Emperor, Mt. Everest, and 1 of the baseball size purples have been faithful for years, 'schubertii' and 'christophil' maybe a couple of years, 'caeruleum' and 'karataviense' only a year. I also have a 'wild leek' native that remains pretty faithful, some years it doesn't bloom, some years it does.

I adore alliums and have quite a few varieties. One variety of the big ones (Ambassador) failed to return, but my supplier suggested planting them quite deep (4 times the depth of the bulb). I tried that and they have returned for the last 3 years, although I don't actually know that the reason they regrow is the deeper planting. Purple Sensation seems indestructible here, keeps seeding itself all over to the point where it's almost attained weed status.

I think 'Purple Sensation' might be the baseball sized purple I mentioned above.

Purple sensation have flower heads about the size of a tennis ball, which I think is about the same size as a baseball? They're great as cut flowers (the alliums, not the tennis balls!)

I agree with Neal. Planting in proximity of trees is great way for bulbs that require dryish summer conditions. A raised sand bed is another. However 'Purple Sensation' is very vigorous and I have the same experience regarding self seeding as Mika. Sometimes it does take an extra season to establish bulbs as they divide into small bulbs that need some time to attain a respectable size again. If you do think something is wrong, Terri, I'd dig a few of them after flowering(if they flower) and inspect the bulbs for anything suspicious - holes, discolorations and so on.

I read that Allium schubertii doesn't produce any offsets and will die out after a few years, unless propagated from seed, but unsure if this is true or not as I also read the opposite . Allium karataviense is up for its third year here, but only a few of the bulbs have multiplied so far. They do get a little less sun than ideal, so could be that, but I suspect these were from seed so are genetically different in how freely they produce offsets.

The biggest allium casualty here was the drumstick allium. These are cheap and I bought a big bag of what I thought was a really easy species, but they only survived one year, so wasn't terribly rewarding here

Ambassador had a few bad bulbs when I replanted them last autumn, but the remaining are fine and of three original bulbs, there are five now. Mount Everest is another one in its second year and has multiplied from 5 to 15 bulbs in one year (not all of them flowering sized).

Globemaster usually produces two flowering sized bulbs from one every year. Occasionally there is a bulb that rots, but this is in the bed where I've lost almost all hyacinths as well, so suspect there is some pathogen present and I also water this area in summer so overall I think the result is very satisfactory as I still get more bulbs every year. So a long answer, but overall I think alliums can be wonderful returning bulbs and I have never lifted mine for summer, although that may not be a bad idea in some circumstances.

I need allium advice, y'all. I have both Allium gladiator (along the back wall of my Spring Bulb Garden, where I've learned the hard waay not to water in the summer. . I'm still kicking myself mentally and lamenting the loss of my center of riotous daffodil color) and Allium schubertii (planted last fall scattered in the center of that Garden).

I have allium Gladiator...the five last year were so spectacular (and there were two gaps in the line of them) that I got two more for those gaps! All 7 Gladiators are/were all marvelous their first year. . tall, (almost 5 foot) straight, stout and big blooms(volley ball size); the SECOND year, notnso much:4 hadnmuch shorter (about 2-3 foot),weak stems (half their previous width), drooping st4ems and baseballsize EHHH blooms.. . .and one produced only small, yellow-sh foliage.

I guessed that the 4 Gladiators from last year were cut down before they had stored enough bulb energy for this year's display. . . so I cut off their bloom stalk at ground level so they'd store their energy. The sick-looking foliage from the end Gladiator. . I don't know WHAT it's problem is. . all I can think to do is to wait and see what it does NEXT year. . and be prepared to replace it. Right?? Wrong?? What would YOU do??

All the schubertii are growing, big strong foliage and growing big buds. I can't wait to see tham in bloom!! (They weren't planned; when I went to the garden center to guy those 2 Gladiator bulbs. . . .ehh! They made me grin!!!).

I PLAN on just letting the Spring Bulb Garden alone thisn year (pretty much). . when all the surviving daffodil foliage dies (but BEFORE it gets disconnected from its bulb) the bulbs will be dug and cured. Then, when all the scubertii foliage dies, etc..same thing. In August (sooner???), the daffodil and schubertii bulbs will be planted in a Different garden. . . and I'll winter-sow Geum Mrs J Bradshaw, to transplant spring 2017 into the center of th3e defunct Spring Bulb Gsarden. (parden my typing!!!! lol)

ps The new location for these bulbs will NOT be watered while they're dormant!!
can y'all see any probs with this plan?? Any precautions??

Bet, personally I'd discard any sick looking bulb and ideally some of the soil around it. Yours could be an exception, but prematurely yellowed foliage is almost always related to some kind of bulb rot .

Generally I think it may be difficult to get an exact repeat of the initial huge floral display from the giant alliums in a garden setting, all depending on local conditions and the cultivar in question, but not allowing them to flower seems like a good first step. When cutting a bloom stalk it may be marginally better to just cut the flower head so the stalk can continue to contribute to photosynthesis - at least that's my understanding of the subject.

Sounds like a good plan for the bulb move