Sunday, February 1, 2009

Pansies and Bulbs!

Last week Jack Frost, visited west Texas. It was very cold! These days are few and far between and to say everyone gets excited is an understatment. The roads were icy. Everything was covered in a glittery frost. It was lovely and delightful! School was closed and Coach was home for two whole days. Whoohoo!!! However, it wouldn't last long. On the second day, the sun came out and by noon all traces of our winter storm were gone! I could hardly wait to get outside and start planting the six flats of pansies I bought, right before Jack blew in. So I put on my Martha Stewart garden gloves, grabbed a vintage hand trowel and headed to my potting shed. Where I started planting pansies and bulbs in everything imaginable. I love the way galvenized sap buckets look with purple and blue pansies. Pretty cool!


But it is hard to resist the simple charm of old clay pots. I've collected alot of these over the years and I particularly fond of the ones made out of white clay. I get so excited when they have moss growing on them. My friend Sheri Ratliff told me recently that you can encourage this by brushing buttermilk onto the flower pots. I can hardly wait to try it.


This is one of my favorite mossy pots and after puting a handful of gravel in the bottom of the pot, plus a little potting soil, I sat daffodill bulbs on the bottom. Then more soil and then lot's of



pansies!



It won't be long before the daffodills start pushing through the pansies, much to my delight!
These daffodill's, in the flowerbed, are already sprouting up. I can hardly wait until the first bloom. This is the variety I buried under the pansies.


It's also fun to bury bulbs in gravel, in a container with no drainage. Keep them moist, place in indirect light and they will bring you an early Spring, indoors! I have several containers placed


throughout my house with Paperwhite Narcissus bulbs. They are just about to bloom....and the aroma is heavenly.
Later this week I'm going to be planting another favorite type, Hyacinths! I enjoy every stage of this process. From plain bulbs......


to the first peek of green, budding.......



to fragrant blooms.
How I'd love to plant my face right smack dab in the middle of these blue hyacinth's. Only of course when no one is looking. I love the way they smell, too!

Have a whiff! Hmmmmm!

What are you waiting on? Go get some pansies and bulbs right now! You can thank me later.

4 comments:

Beth said...

FUN times! Wish I had a little sun up here! :) So, my fortune cookie at PF Changs last night said "I would do well in the world of computer technology"...I laughed, but low and behold I have been sucked into a deep dark hole all afternoon and have discovered many NEW and exciting tricks of "blog design" (a lot of messing with codes and plugging stuff in kinda' confusion...but it's a whole new world for me now!!) Want a new blog makeover! Go check mine out...it's FRESH!! :) Love YOU!

Roxanne said...

Absolutely! Help yourself! I love it when the blog fairy visits!!! Oh, and by the way, I love your fresh new look. Don't wait for sushine...don't wait for spring.Gro something indoors. Go get some bulbs!!!

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mary said...

I'm on my way to buy bulbs!

I'm not going to be able to make the painting workshop, but, maybe you will come home and want to give a workshop?!?! I am so smart - that is an excellent idea! Don't you agree?