>> 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.
