A project of delayed gratification...

I spent twenty minutes yesterday on a project that I'm looking forward to enjoying a couple of months from now.  I bought some tulip bulbs in October that I meant to pot in November, but I had to go to Florida and things got a little hectic.  I forgot about the bulbs till I found them the other day...hopefully mid-December is not too late to plant tulips.

I guess I'll find out!

Actually, it's been so warm here this month that I'm kind of glad I waited.  I've got daffodils coming up all over my yard; I'm always afraid when things start blooming in December or January that they won't return in the spring.  But they usually do (as far as I can tell).  Do fewer bloom?  I'm not sure.

I decided not to plant the tulips in the ground this year, since I may be working at The House of Goodwill and not around to see them - I don't want to miss the results of my efforts!  Daffodils and tulips in the spring are something I look forward to every year.  Planting them in pots means I can transport them to wherever I am.

So here's what I did yesterday (prepare to be amazed):

Looks incredible, no?

I put the bulbs in plastic planters that I can put inside of prettier pots when they start blooming.  Or, if only some bloom and I get a some kind of weird result (always a possibility), I can just cut the ones that look good and bring them inside.

Here's what I planted:

Hoping these will look pretty together!

I've never planted the purple flowers on the left before.

Both of these are supposed to bloom in early spring, that's why I planted them together.

Hopefully the timing will work out well.  If not, cut flowers they will be!

These are both supposed to bloom in mid-Spring, so I planted them together.

There were a few extra chionodoxa bulbs, so I put them in a garden bed.  According to the package, they naturalize well, so we'll see what they do.

Here are a few pics from past years' containers that came out really pretty:

You can just see my planter of tulips in the foreground in this pic from last Easter.

I put them out in front of the house.

Here's one of my pots just starting to bloom.

This big container turned out beautifully.

I keep iris bulbs in it, but planted the tulips in between.

This picture was taken at the very beginning of the Covid outbreak in 2020 (hence the home gym on the back patio).  I had just happened to plant tulip bulbs all around the front and back yard that fall of 2019; when we were stuck at home for several months, the tulips blooming everywhere were a needed reminder of joy.

My final move?  I put the four tulip containers in my shed.  I made the mistake the first year I planted potted tulips of leaving the container on the front porch of the house, thinking that the sunlight would be good for them.  I came outside one morning in midwinter to discover that a neighborhood cat had decided a pot of dirt made a great bathroom, and had scratched the dirt out and all over the place.

After a little google search, I determined the bulbs would be fine in a shed or garage, as long as I bring them out when they start growing.

So they are now safely ensconced in the shed until spring.  $16 for 39 bulbs.  Not a bad deal at all.  The happiness they will bring?  At least $17 worth, I'm sure. 🙂

As long as no cats figure out how to break into my shed, I should be fine.

I'll keep you posted!