10/17/2007

Bulbs for fall planting

Pennykins simply does not know what we're going to do with all these bulbs!

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She says, "Gack!"

With this delivery from Old House Gardens, all my fall bulbs are in, and I am done. Done!

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What's in this order?

A bag of five Camassia leichtlinii, and the $30 Intro to Heirlooms fall sampler for Zone 9/10.

Camassia seem to be up in the air taxonomically--do they belong in the Liliaceae, Hyacinthaceae, or Agavaceae? I'm not sure about Agavaceae, but I could see either Liliaceae or Hyacinthaceae (with Chlorogalum!). The Liliaceae...what a mess that has been. I'm not even going to go there.

I'm just happy to have the quamash, or maybe I should say camas. Not to be confused with Death Camas which is Zigadenus. Even the common names are confusing. Well, the common names are always confusing. That's why noone likes them.

Why don't we move on to the fall sampler.

What did they pick for me?

Leucojum aestivum 'Gravetye Giant snowflake', Lilium 'Red Velvet', hyacinth Gipsy Queen, and daffodils Erlicheer, Sweetness, and Thalia.

I dug the five Camassia in today--between the tree fern and fuchsia (one), between ribes and next year's Digitalis (two), between Brugmansia and bamboo (three), next to Colocasia (four), and between Mimulus puccineus and Verbena lilacina--to test tolerance for dryness (five).

I have no idea where anything else is going. In pots most likely. The Red Velvet sounds interesting; it has "New England-bred, triploid vigor". Well, who wouldn't want that?

What did I do after I got all these bulbs I can't figure out to do with? Placed a spring order for $70. Hey, something has to replace the monocarpic Echium wildprettii after they bloom (hopefully next year), and I have four of them.

What did I order?

Dahlia atropurpurea! (I wonder how that will look next to the obscenely large cones of Rudbecka californica spp. californica which I bought at Yerba Buena a couple weeks ago.)

I thought G.F. Hemerick looked too good to pass up. I ordered three. Madame Stappers, meet Prince Noir. "A fragrant glad?" Fascinating, give me ten. Tuberose, pink rain lily? Yes, and yes.

Unbelievable.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Uh-oh, you have the bulb sickness too.

BTW, if you need more natives, the East Bay CNPS sale is this weekend.

Anonymous said...

bytheway about the abyssinian glads, if your expecting it to be big and blousy like regular glads, its really really not. it usually only has about one or two blooms per stem and their maybe an inch and a half wide tops. i still think their quite charming myself, just thought you might like to know, and also you should plant them all together if you want to really notice them, otherwise they might get lost

chuck b. said...

Thank you Heather--small is good. I have some real estate in a pot of succulents with the name Abyssinian glad written all over it.

lisa said...

Nice! Madame Stappers is especially pretty. Do I see Penny chewing that box? My son's cat, Bentley enjoys cardboard boxes very much, first to sit in, then chew. I can't wait to see those bulbs blooming!

chuck b. said...

Yes, she chewed the heck out of it and left it perforated with tiny teeth marks. Very cute.