Potting for Spring

So, we're in a drought.

We also haven't quite finished the front retainer for the major garden work.
Also, my back bothers me if I try to do too much gardening.

Grow, little bulbs! GROW!

BUT I had already ordered a ton of flower bulbs for fall planting! Oh no! What to do? I spotted these planters on sale on Home Depot- because the gardening department is right between the front door and the wood glue (Isn't it?) And setting them on the wall will 'beautify' and give the neighbors a sneak preview of it will be like some day, I hope!

For a couple of months (and very dry months at that) they just sat there on the wall, looking bored. Then suddenly, things started happening.

Congratulations! It's a... stemmy thing. And some leaves. ?

A stem here, a leaf there. It seemed like overnight, all of the baskets were showing greenery. Of course, three months ago, I was certain that I would remember what I planted in each one... HAHAHAHAH! I can't even remember what I ate for dinner yesterday. (Not true- leftover pizza and a bowl of cereal. Hey, it was my no-cook night, don't judge.) That tub obviously has those random ranunculus that I found in the bottom of my garden tool box, and some, um... long green stemmy things?

Ooh! This one I know! This one I was waiting for!

Cloth of Gold 

"Cloth of Gold" Snow Crocus!  And they are AMAZING! Just absolutely beautiful.  Only problem with them is that they just barely peek over the top of the container- you have to 'spy' on them. These came from Breck's Bulbs fall sale online, and I'm impressed. Each bulb has put out 3-4 flowers! And each individual flower blooms in sequence, so they've been going strong for nearly two weeks now!

For some reason known only to the fall-bulb frenzied Liz who existed last autumn, I bought something called "Baby Shower Mix", with pink tulips and baby blue hyacinths.

I think they're supposed to bloom at the same time, but who cares, right? Here's where I've had my only problem with the pots- rainwater gathered in the leaves of one of the tulips and settled in the bud, where it caused the bulb to start to rot out.  Oops. Better attention to spacing and drainage, I guess.

Anyway, most of the pots are still muddles of green stem and sprouts. One is obviously hyacinths, and with luck will be the Miss Saigon from American Meadows. There should be some apricot colored daffodils and some more of my favorite Triumph Tulips. They never last long enough, and they don't rebloom here, so if I killed them by trying to pot them, I'll be heartbroken.

Pink Tulips from the Baby Shower Mix

(What WAS I thinking?)