Mike,
We'll need pictures of progress you know.

Thanks for the compliments everyone.
Sally there will be updates for sure.
Neal you are correct.
Crocus
Found these blooming today.

I am so jealous.
We had many toms the early blue crocou.also Cloth of Gold.
When the tree came down where they were planted and spreading , they ground the stump and added soil and readied the area for grass.
I doubt there will ever bee crocus there again ,and yet I am looking for anything that looks like shoots.

Never give up, Jo Ann! I found a few crocuses today and more than a squirrel had eaten so I poured on the black pepper.

Mike,
My favorite color combination. Crocus almost glow at times!

Jo Ann,
That is so sad! Otherwise, you can hardly move or get rid of crocus because you always miss little bulblets. Keep looking and hoping!

Pirl,
Black pepper. I never heard of that.

Thanks for the buck up Pirl and Sally. Time will tell. Good thing I didn't buy tons of crocus and plant last fall. The kids did the tree project without saying anything to me or I would have marked bulbs last spring and dug last fall before the tree came down.
I will know better in a month. The area is assigned for grass so the crocus wouldnt have survived anyway.

We have had a day in the high 60's.I did see crocus coming up in the south facing garden next to the new landscape project.

Jo Ann, sorry to hear about the Crocus around the tree. The only redeeming factor at this point is that they are one of the least expensive bulbs to procure. I plan to get some more this fall and add the to the south side of the house for a bigger display.
Sally, you are so right about the glow that some Crocus display.
When forced to by digging "tree rats" formerly known as squirrel I use cayenne pepper to protect the bulbs. Black Pepper repels us so there is no reason it wouldn't work on animals. How about a black pepper/cayenne pepper combo Pirl ?

I had put out many bottles, jugs and jars of herbs and spices to make a mixture to spread around but never got to do it and today is too windy. It will get done and the deer and squirrels will have a few surprises when they come to eat the daylilies (mostly deer).

Pirl, our relationship with deer has lasted eons it seems.
I have given up on Liquid Fence and Repellzall. The deer just ignore it. Last year I had good luck with Deeroff.
Hope it wil see me thru this year.
I want a great garden for my birthday coctail party mid June.

In 2012 I gave up spraying. They get used to the scent so a different product has to be used. I have too many deer repellants and don't enjoy the job at all.

I'm sure we all hope you have a fun cocktail party to celebrate your birthday.

A few years ago I looked out the window to see a cow standing in the garden (that had found a tear in the pasture fence). It nibbled a few things, but the worst damage was from deep hoof prints- a few lily bulbs were totally smashed.

I took advantage of nice weather over the weekend and got a start on my new project! Just a start, but it was digging forsythia bush roots which takes some time. Thankfully the roots aren't too deep. Hope I can get most dug out before growth commences.

When my gardens started in 2008 I planted a lot of plants.Many from generous gardeners plus those I bought.
The plants were small so every bloom was important. At this time I do what I can to keep deer away but now and then a Multiplant Image comes back when gardens were 4 years old and I wish I could have that back again.
Many plants means the 4 or 5 deer that cruise thru here in early evening and morning doesn't make much of a dent.
However they manage to hit some faves I haven't seen in awhile.

Good luck with your roots Neal.

I'm excited to open up a blank slate to design! I already have more plant ideas than will fit. Aside from looking nice it will also perform a good function- it will butt up against the fence that encloses the back yard, which gets overgrown every summer. Now I'll have a perfect incentive to keep it clear.

Jo Ann,
Mike beat me to it, but yep, they will always sell crocus. If I don't find mine I will have to buy. Mine were a free gift from Michigan Bulb waaay back when I was first starting and it was the first catalog to come. I had ordered 200 tulip bulbs and the third year a lot hadn't come up. I wrote the company and they sent 200 bulbs. There was a three year guarantee and they held up their end.

Pirl,
I wish you could watch the deer nibbling your spicy plants!

Oh Neal,
Not the lilies!!
Getting those out will look so different. I can't wait to see the bed when you get it all put together.
I adore clean slates! It's all dug, weed free and fresh!

Jo Ann,
That's how I feel about all my blooms. I wait all year to see every one of them.

This was 1990. The year before, on the hottest day, I dug trenches and moved all the bulbs from one small bed. Like Jo Ann, I miss the old days, lol. This area is now my garden. The tree and fence long gone. I miss that tree. It's the only time I saw a yellow billed cuckoo :o(

Sally
That was some project. I will buy crocus again but plant somewhere else. That area will be grass
Before removal



The stump area where new grass will go

It seems a shame to have to seed it over with grass :o(

I know but ,I lost my vote here where big expensive projects are concerned. DD and SIL had to take the tree down. It had grown under the driveway making speed bumps and cracked the garage pad.
The pros will return to plant grass and add a few new plantings.
I will be able to put planters on the newly created patio at the front door.
Believe me I have been making plans all winter.

JoAnn, I've got lots of different kinds of crocuses and have noticed some are more attractive to rodents than others. The little C. chrysanthus varieties (often called snow crocus) must be delicious - those frequently get eaten. But I've found C. tommasinianus (tommies) and C. sieberi (Tricolor and Firefly) are rarely nibbled.

I've also found the large flowered C. vernus cultivars aren't nibbled very often. I think because they bloom a little later when things are starting to grow and there is more leafy food available.

I have crocuses in the garden and in the lawn and those in the garden are more likely to be eaten than those in the grass. Those in the lawn are scattered here and there and are somewhat camouflaged by the grass- maybe that's why they miss those. Those in the garden are more clumped together, so maybe they're just being efficient and gorging while standing in one spot

Neal
Thanks for the tip. I really loved the tommies that were in the tree area. I also noticed some coming up where I never planted them, thank the squirrels for naturalizing for me. I loved Cloth of Gold ,small blooms rich yellow umber color petals are maroon on the back.