Master Gardener Home Page--June 1996
Spring has given us a surfeit of surprises so that, as gardeners, nothing surprises us anymore this year. Winter was extraordinary, and we thought maybe that would be IT.
Spring should have been calm, predictable, possibly even serene; but we knew that would be too much to expect. We have long since learned that the unexpected occurs when we most don't expect it. It is best, then, to be unprepared.
Our gardens astonish us with their peevishness. My crepe myrtles were killed to the soil line. My callas are coming up. The azaleas bloomed only around the bottoms. The daylilies are going to be grand. La la. We must learn not to fret.
Last fall I performed a deal of work getting 200 tulips into the ground, with loads of Compro, composted leaves, bone meal, and a prayerful attitude. This spring they were satisfactory, though I could not have foreseen the onset of a family of voles and their out-of-town guests keeping warm under all that snow.
To my amazement, nevertheless, and this is the point, the Fritillaria persica bulbs planted at the same time around the lamppost out front were just as they are in the catalog pictures--30 inches tall, with dozens of pendant small bell-shaped brownish-purple flowers with tiny yellow stamens, looking a little like foxgloves, but more subtle and exotic, as Persia used to be. Even the bladelike silvery-green fronds looked mysterious, reminding me of tower pagodas, I know, I know, the cost of each bulb is ridiculous, going for as much as seven bucks apiece in some catalogs. The new Park's Advance Bulb catalog offers the Fritillaria persica for $6.95 each. White Flower Farm is only a smidge cheaper at $6.25.That IS dear, even more so if we want a nice showy grouping for an unusual accent somewhere, something to balance the mundane yellow daffodils or to contrast with tulips, which is the way for them to look best.
But take heart. You can get five for $16.50 from Van Engelen Bulbs, 313 Maple St., Litchfield, CT 06759, plus ten per cent shipping. That works out to just about $3.30 each, not bad for a planting that can come back year after year, if the voles don't find them. This is a satisfaction. Believe me, people did not stop as they were passing by, look at the King Alfreds, and say, "Where in the world did you find THESE?"
-- Peter Van Egmond, MG
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