Sundays in my Sierra town

Sunday and I’m planning the early spring garden. First, a handful of shots of Ironstone vineyards’ gorgeous wisteria arbor walkway (I have a house eating wisteria – keep starting cuttings and hope to move off the house onto an arbor). In winter you can see the bones of the structure.

The blooming shots are simply from my BlackBerry, taken in May.

Now’s the time to order or purchase your winter bulbs (for those of us north of the equator).

If you’re in a warm climate – you need to refrigerate tulips and a few others before planting. Even those of you in apartments can pick up a sack of Paperwhites to force in pretty little pots as extras for holiday presents – you could do it now for a Thanksgiving hostess gift. They only take 4 to 6 weeks from planting to bloom. Instructions for forcing bulbs are at Van Engelen, a bulb wholesaler with a great selection. Amaryllis are also simply stunning and easily bloom the first year when forced; plan 6 to 12 weeks for them.

In California, bags of bulbs have been showing up in stores this week. Depending on where you are, remember that tulips are like truffles to pigs for every squirrel and  rodent in the area (folks plant in cages if it’s an issue, I’m developing a love of daffodils – it’s easier). Many tulips naturalize in zones five or colder. For Northern Californians, Daffodils, Narcissus, Paperweights are poisonous, generally left alone and naturalize well. That’s why I’ve created posts with daffodil pictures (one) (and two) to motivate me.