the garden: bulb planting time

The tree lawn in front of my house has been difficult to maintain. The area gets a lot of foot traffic, especially from dogs who are in need of a bathroom. I don't want a big square of dirt in front of my house, but the annuals that I've tried planting there have gotten trampled.

So here's the new plan. Little crocus flowers will bloom first, in late winter. When spring comes and the crocus go away, the tulips will come up. And then the daffodils later in the spring. And then, as the daffodil foliage is starting to die, hostas will come up, covering the dead bulb foliage and keeping the whole area green until the next winter. That's the plan.

I put the daffodil bulbs in the tree lawn last season. And my parents divided some of their hostas for me, and we planted them earlier this fall.

And this past weekend, I planted the crocus and tulip bulbs.

Here's the thing about crocus and tulips, though. Squirrels like them. Apparently they're tasty. The interwebs recommends planting the bulbs under chicken wire, so squirrels can't dig them up, but I didn't  have the motivation to go to that trouble. So I'm trying to ward off the squirrels with another internet-recommended remedy: medicated foot powder. Apparently squirrels do not like the smell or something.

I squirted some of the medicated foot powder in a plastic bag, then threw in the bulbs and tossed everything around until the bulbs were coated.

For each hole I dug, I put in a bulb and then a squirt of medicated foot powder. I may have looked like a crazy person standing on the sidewalk with a trowel in one hand and medicated foot powder in the other.

So I'll let you know how it goes and whether the crocus and tulips sprout in the spring.

<3

In other garden news, my basil has all died, sadly, because it's been too cold. The peppers are still going strong, though. So are the lettuce and spinach. None of my radishes ever produced.

And the tomato aren't producing as much as they had been, but I'm still getting a few tomatoes, and the plants have green tomatoes and even some flowers.

Oh, and the celery -- it's still alive!