I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o’er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
If you find yourself wandering around the nursery and see – A host of golden daffodils! All bagged and begging to be bought! And visions of daffodils, beside the lake, beneath the trees, dance in your head…
Yes! Do buy them!
Just, please. Do wait to plant them!
Spring blooming bulbs are now in garden centers, but our soils are still too warm. The correct time to plant daffodils, tulips and such in zone 8a/North Texas is between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when our days are reliably cooler. For best selection, though, buy now. Just store them in a cool place for another six to eight weeks.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
Daffodils are easy to plant. Dig a hole two to three times the height of the bulb and place the bulb pointy-side up. Cover with soil. Repeat. And then you, too, will have a crowd, a host of golden daffodils.
Or snow white daffodils.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
~ William Wordsworth
Tulips are also easily planted. They have a definite “right side up” and “wrong side down.” But they do need to be chilled before planting in North Texas. (For as much as we like to complain about the weather, it doesn’t get cold enough to give tulips the right amount of chill hours…) Buy your tulips now, but store them in the veggie section of your refrigerator until closer to year’s end. (You can also mail order pre-chilled tulip bulbs. A few select garden centers, such as North Haven Gardens in Dallas, offer to store and chill your bulbs for you. You buy now. They store until ideal planting time. Then you have room for veggies in your fridge. Because you know you were worried about where to store your broccoli.)
Tulips are an annual in North Texas and are prone to wind damage, though they are beautiful in the garden. If garden space is a premium or money is a consideration, plant reliable bulbs, such as daffodils, and just plan to buy tulips from the florist. (See photo below.) (I do occasionally succumb to tulip-mania and plant tulips… Like this year.)
Anemones are another beautiful spring blooming flower that is planted in the fall. It is is a bit trickier to plant. Which way is up? Which way is down? Is this really a bulb or is it a dried mushroom?
If you look closely at the bulb, you will see that one side has a circle with what looks like the source of now chopped off roots. That is down. Anemones are not reliably perennial in this area, but offer a bold splash of color come spring.
Plan now for your spring garden. Spring blooming bulbs are so rewarding!
the melodious garden 