Tulip Time (A Bit Early)

Tulips are blooming well in the gardens right now albeit a bit early. This species tulip (Tulipa tarda) is one of my favorites with its white-tipped, bright yellow petals. It's not very tall but is heavy on impact. If you plant it in an area that doesn't get a lot of supplemental water in the summer, it will last for many years. Tulips in general will persist longer in those well-drained soils that don't get overly wet during the summer. The image below is a better shot of the 'Orange Queen' tulips out front. They opened up significantly today and revealed a lot more glowing orange. We've had lots of comments on these thus far although we're still asked about our Tulip Time display (2000 and 2001) that featured over 25,000 tulips representing 500 varieties and species. It was spectactular but was removed after two years when it lost vigor and appeal. I wish we had the money to replicate it again....

We're continuing to dig up perennials around the gardens for our perennial division day this Saturday. I'm flagging perennials around the gardens that are in need of division or will be removed entirely from the collections (because we usually have plenty of that type). I'm very pleased with our spring progress and at the risk of jinxing it, I'd say that we're way ahead of where we've been in past years. Crunch time is coming and we have lots of plants rolling in daily (see below). The yard will start to fill up and before too long, we'll have 100,000 plants to poke in the ground, label and maintain. It's all good though. It's a lot of fun too.