WITH
Gardening PETER BOWDEN
WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY
PETER BOWDEN
A
ll the beautiful flowers I grow in summer can’t give me the same thrill as the first crocus emerging as the last of the winter’s snow retreats from the gardens. After a long flowerless winter, these first blooms of the season seem so precious. Snowdrops, daffodils, tulips, allium, hyacinths and all the bulbs we planted in the fall arrive in sequence to brighten early spring days. Planting these bulbs in fall is like sending yourself a love letter that won’t arrive until spring. These small bulbs are a miracle in themselves. How do we make sure our bulbs will return year after year? Think of them as rechargeable batteries. They don’t store electricity but “growth energy”. The trick to perpetual success with bulbs is in “recharging the battery” After they flower in spring, that “growth energy” is depleted during the all-out effort to reproduce (flower) in spring. After the flowers go by, remove the spent bloom and stem. This prevents the bulb from wasting “growth energy” producing seeds. That “growth energy” is instead directed to the bulb where it is stored until next spring’s flowering cycle. This is also the time to feed your bulbs. Scratching some bulb food into the soil around your bulbs will provide the nutrients they need to grow larger and more plentiful. Think of the bulbs’ leaves as solar collectors that change sunlight into “growth energy” that is sent to the bulb below for storage. Don’t cut off these solar collectors when you remove the spent blossoms. Let them remain until they finish charging up your “bulb batteries”. The leaves will eventually turn yellow, letting you know that they have done their job and can be cut away.
78 | SIMPLY SARATOGA | SPRING 2020
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