May Already??

Goodness is it really so long since I added a blog?  Sorry! So much happening in the garden too -including endless weeds.  The iris and hostas love all this rain.  What a wet cool spring it has been.  At least the daffodils and tulips really lasted well this year.  I went to visit friends in Delaware a coupleof weeks ago and also took the opportunity of visiting Longwood Gardens-haven't been in April for a long time -the gardens were stunning.

  Now back home and the lilies are getting tall and lots of new growth is appearing everywhere.

The Allium Siculum

 is stunning this year.  It is also a plant that cuts well for those flower arrangers out there!  Will also be rehearsing for The Red Velvet cake War opening May 31st.  I will get to that weeding sometime I suppose -it will still be there, that's for sure!

Brave Delight

Narcissus Grand Soleil d'Or -At last you can see what I am talking about!!! (The feature to add a picture from my computer seems to have returned )This little treasure has been blooming since early December.  Just got back from the GGIA Atlanta trade show to a lyer of freezing rain on the roads around the Greenville SC area and temperatures around 26 degrees F and this morning these brave little souls have STILL perked up their heads in defiance of the weather to bring the sun out in the garden!!  I now have 3 blooms of Narcissus Rijnelds Early Sensation  too.  The smaller early daffodils make such wonderful landscape additions to cheer us onour way at this time of year.   They are so underused.   Similarly the miniature tulips are coming up and are a great additon to rock gardens and pots.  Once they start to bloom I will add their joyous faces to the blog.Crazy weather though -it is forecast to be 70degrees again by Tuesday.    How the  poor garden can cope with such dramatic variations never fails to amaze me.

Anyway, I brought back a beautiful specimen of Edgeworthia Winter Gold from our dear friends at Cam Too Camelia nursery in NC and some wonderful organic coffee and organic pecans from Cleveland Organics of GA.  You should check out their stuff I promise you it is worth it.  It was a good trade show, busy and as always, it was fun to see old friends and catch up with their news

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you have a wonderful gardening year too.

Here is a clump of my giant snowdrops they are so uplifting on a grey day and so brave to withstand the storms and the frost don't you think?

I tried to add a picture of the cheery yellow Narcissus Grand Soleil d'Or -a little beauty, especially so early.  It reminds us of the joys of gardening and the lift to our spirits when we see the early growth or new blooms.  Anyway, the photo keeps turning sideways on me -how do I turn a picture selected for the blog?  Can anyone help me with that?  It is the right way up in my computer files!!

I planted a bunch of the exquisite miniature tulips in the fairy garden together with the mini iris reticulata, so I am looking forward to a fabulous display in that corner of the garden early this spring.

Anyway, it is not too late to plant spring bulbs they will just bloom a little later.  Daffodils especially, will still be fine, I aim to spend time this coming weekend planting more lovely bulbs.  We still have a selection available at the warehouse in Greenwood SC   We also have a few double Amaryllis Blossom Peacock and some paperwhite Narcissus for sale.

Let us know if you still need anything.  Also if you would like a copy of our new spring catalog call us at Marlboro Bulb Company on 1-800-999-0567 or email info@marlborobulb.com We would love to hear from you and share any or your gardening stories.

Happy Christmas to everyone. There are snowdrops blooming -so cheerful at this time of year.  The giant one seems to be the only one that really does well here in the south -in my garden at least but I do love them so.  If it stops raining long enough in the next couple of days I will take some photos!  There are also some narcissus Grand Soleil d'Or starting to open  What a cheery sight and even a couple of blue muscari -what are they thinking?  It is far too early for them.  They make great ground cover in the winter for the south, but even so they don't usually bloom until late March/April. 
Planted more daffodils and tulips yesterday in between showers!

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas day and very best wishes to all for the NewYear.  Happy Planting!

There is still time to get bulbs to plant before Christmas or help work off that huge Christmas meal! Or as last minute Christmas gifts -the gift that lasts and lasts. We still have a good range of minipacks with their beautiful color picture -just right as stocking fillers or put a few in a basket as a lovely gift. The mini tulips and the small bulbs also work so well in pots -they can be planted up, left outside and then brought in just before they bloom to enjoy inside.  They are also gret planted in layers over larger bulbs such as tulips or daffodils in pots.  And of course we still have some awesome Amaryllis. Don't forget, here in the south, they can be planted outside in the garden after the last frost date to give joy in coming years outside. Further north keep them until the leaves dry out then stop watering and repot in the fall for next year.

The rain here was really welcome -just what we needed to wake up those dormant bulbs already in the ground. It has been so dry in South Carolina this fall.  My first giant snowdrops are already blooming though and the winter honeysuckle with its heavenly scent is displaying its gorgeous little white blooms -they will last for a couple of months. It is a straggly bush but is a great addition to the winter garden if tucked away and the blooms will fill a room with their fragrance. Let me know if anyone locally would like any cuttings!

 

To purchase bulbs  or request a catalog, you can email me or call 1-800-999-0567 or locally of course 864 229 1618 or email info@marlborobulb.com  You can call also and arrange to visit the warehouse  -Marlboro Bulb Company, 2424 Hwy 72 - 221E, Greenwood SC 29692  www.marlborobulb.com is our website.  Our new spring catalog is also out now and the Christmas holiday is a great time to sit and relax with the new catalog and choose items to plant in the spring for keeping those blooms coming through the summer.

Have a wonderful and happy Christmas, and if you are traveling -keep safe.

Happy Planting

Fall harvest

Still picking gorgeous dahlias and beautiful colored caladium leaves for indoors.  Also picked 2 figs today -mmm delicious.  There are still a few peppers ripening.  I tried the new sweet pepper Merlot in my 'alcoholic' garden -all the plants have the name of alcohol!!: Caladium brandywine, Viburnum Brandywine, Atropurpurea Burgundy Glow, Deutzia, Chardonnay Pearl, Colocasia Mojita among many others.  I also have a white garden, an Asian garden, a South Carolina Garden, a rock garden and so on.  Having fun with the garden means spending more time there and it is amazing how other people help you look for plants or suggest them, or even pass along plants that they know will fit into a theme.  It is a great talking piece too for a party.

What ideas do you have for garden areas or themes?

presentation Sep 13th

Hostas?  Are they your favorite?  Come and see our presentation on Hostas and Companions in the Greenwood SC library at 7pm on Thursdy September 13th.  This is organized by the Master Gardeners but it will be open to the public also.  There will be fall bulbs and hosta plants for sale afterwards.

Hope you can make it.  If you have any questions you would like answering -just let us know, or if you would like us to bring any particular bulbs we will be happy to do that if we have them in stock.

You can call us on 1-800-999-0567 or email info@marlborobulb.com

Fall for Fall Bulbs

Now is the time to start planning for your fall bulb planting.  We are often asked about how many bulbs to plant in a certain space -how many  bulbs will make a good show?  Well the answer is really simple -   50 bulbs cover 10 square feet         That is an easy number to remember and and an easy number to work with.                          Let me show what I mean:             take this picture

you can see how lonely and lost these tulips look!

Ok so lets try again -now you can see what they look like en masse. Most designers recommend that you plant at least 50 bulbs to make a good show.  You can also of course plant in clumps of any shape.

Naked Ladies!!

Now is the time to plant the beautiful fall blooming Lycoris species -we have the Red radiata, the pink, squamigera and even the more uncommon yellow aurea. They have a variety of names from Naked Ladies, spider Lily, surprise lily as they suddenly pop up on naked stems with the leaves tagging along later.  Whatever you call them, they are a reliable perennial for the south -they love those sunny spots and require little maintenance or even water! Just be sure not to plant too deeply

fabulous flowers

Well it may be raining today -and a good thing too on all those bulbs planted earlier this year, but a look out the windows in any direction, shows gorgeous drifts of yellow and creamy white splashed with purple, pink and blue.  Daffodils of all kinds and sizes are peering through everywhere, every day, in an ever increasing crescendo of color.  Hyacinths, Iris reticulata, Ipheon and clouds of white apple and plum blossom make up the supporting chorus.  What a joy.  Even a few snowdrops have manged to come back for me and tulip leaves are everywhere, returning from last year.  The very first little pink and cream Kaufmannii tulip in a pot by the shed is actually opening -on March5?     Now check out these pictures:

 Cardboard and newspaper placed over the grass and watered, then covered with bulbs

 OK, so we have access to more bulbs than you but this works on a smaller scale too!

Cover the bulbs with dirt and mulch

So there it is - my 'PEPNOD'  -Patricia's Easy Plant No Dig method -Wow it worked getting the pictures up there! So now you can see how we planted thousands of bulbs in an afternoon! Also the shape is such that it is very easy to mow around, saving yet more time later in the season  I will keep you uptodate on their progress.  Now I do admit to using weedkiller around the edge for the first season, then in the fall when the ground is moist I will dig out around the edge for the future.  That apple tree on the left by the way is blooming its heart out right now.

Spring Bulbs

At last, the first of the species crocus is coming through and was shining bravely in the sunshine yesterday.  It was bliss to get out there and do some gardening.  It was not just the effect of the awful weather this winter keeping me out of the garden but also number of trade shows -it is a busy time of year for that with trips to Atlanta, GA and Greensboro, NC and also to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina -I was so hoping to get my walk on the beach and collect black rocks and oyster shells for my Asian garden -I have a dry river bed -my Black river I call it.  Well it poured with rain sending everything dripping and steaming but finally on sturday morning despite the mist it was not raining! Hurray!  I dragged on my jacket -it seemed to be warm enough to be with a hat so I left that on the seat in the car and headed for the pier. At least I started off in that direction across the sand, the pier was still shrouded in a white misty swirling haze. No tickling my toes in the sand this year  -still, I was enjoying the sound of the water and watching all the seagulls delving their long beaks into the wet sand. I arrived at the pier and guess what?  Yes the rain came down faster and faster.  My hat was in the car -but heck rain water is good for your hair -so they tell me!  Fortunately I hadn't checked out of my hotel so was still able to go back to my room and dry my dripping hair.  It was unpleasantly dripping down my neck by this time.  But iDID get mey walk on the beach -no shells though this time. 
Back to planting bulbs -we planted about 5000 Oxford tulips yesterday -my method -the easy plant way. I have been saving cardboard to lay on the insiduously creeping Bermuda grass we call lawn.  After wetting it with thehose the tulips are dumped unceremoniously in a heap over it and then raked to spread out in a single layer.  Next come a few wheelbarrowfuls of topsoil and compost and finally a layer of shredded tree mulch.  that's it -that's how to plant a brand new flower bed -the very easy way.  Several layers of newspaper will also help to supress grass and weeds if you don't have enough cardboard.  This a great way to start a new bed or do landscaping. I know it is a little late to plant tulips but it has been so cool and the left over bulbs at Marlboro Bulb Company, SC are in good shape -so we will see.  I will keep you posted.  Daffodils are still fine for another couple of weeks in many areas too by the way. Happy plantings!