I recently realized I have been planting daffodils like Mark Watney planted potatoes — as if my life depended on it.
Daffodils have been my no-guilt go-to plant when I need to get some dirt under my fingernails.
With the drought, I did not water the bulbs. If it rained, the bulbs were lucky. If the bulbs died in the ground, I would never know.
This week I realized I have reached the spring-bulb saturation point.
Big-box stores hire people with master’s degrees in product placement. In this case, I bumped into a 7-foot-high metal rack filled with spring-blooming bulbs. The rack was erected in such a way that bags of bulbs fell into my cart with almost no effort on my part.
DAFFODIL PLAN
My plan was to fill two big pots with bulbs each weekend. In the spring, my plan was to have two pots of daffodils in bloom each week.
Great plan. Life changed.
The holidays came quickly. There was a weekend at the coast. We both came down with a cold.
I never planted all of those bulbs. However, the bulbs that remain can be forced indoors, including paperwhites and hyacinth.
Meanwhile, the pots filled with daffodils are blooming big-time. Just as planned, each week a new pot is ready to move near the front porch for maximum enjoyment.
Now, here’s the funny part: When I filled the pots I placed them just inside the fence on the side yard.
When I went to move them, I realized there were anemic-looking bulbs under the pots.
Poor daffodils. I completely forgot where I planted them. Now I know how squirrels feel.
Looking back, I also bought too many bulbs last year. When I ran out of pots I started tucking bulbs into every corner of the yard, and apparently along the fence in the side yard.
It’s like an Easter egg hunt to track them down — behind the fence, at the edge of the house, in the path of the weedwacker.
SPRING-PLANTED BULBS
If you missed it, Brett McGhie, Butte County Master Gardener, wrote a good article recently about bulbs we can plant right now, http://ucanr.edu/blogs/dirt/index.cfm. If you peruse his articles, you can keep scrolling and find other useful articles from people who have attended many classes to learn about gardening.
Valentine’s Day
For Valentine’s Day, my beau took me to the movies, but we opted out of the whole dress-up and dine-out routine.
If you think about it, Valentine’s Day is the last night I would want to spend a lot of money on a good meal. I don’t want to squeeze in a reservation, feel hurried by the wait staff and suffer through glares from people who want me to eat faster.
We’ll go out one night this week when we can chow down in a leisurely way.
A few weeks ago my guy announced it was time to take down the Christmas tree. The needles were starting to fall onto the carpet, which he claimed is a sign the tree has outlived its usefulness.
However, the tree was a Christmas gift and I did not put up the ornaments until the day after Christmas.
“Nope,” I told him after verifying the pine needle problem.
“I’ll take it down at Valentine’s Day.”
I think I’ll stick with this tradition. Christmas trees are fairly cheap when you buy them on Christmas eve. As far as frivolous, decorative items, I think there is a need for more of these in January and February.
BEE INFORMED
Super-smart university prof. Lee Altier will host a workshop next Wednesday, 5-6:30 on how to build a bee hotel for native bees. Meet at the University Farm greenhouse classroom, at the University Farm off Hegan Lane, 311 Nicholas C. Schouten Lane. Suggested donation is $10 if you want to make a bee hotel. Otherwise the talk is free.
