Every year is strikes me.
I always think that I will remain strong and resist the urge.
But, I always fail.
What am I talking about? Just the urge to keep my bulb order to reasonable standards.
This was the scene Wednesday at Kilbourne Grove. A gorgeous sunny day, and a sprinkling of bulbs to plant. Yes, I said a sprinkling. Don’t think that the 252 I planted was the majority of my order. No siree, the balance still has to arrive, that includes my 1,000 crocus tommasinianus, 150 fritillaria meleagris (inspired by Barry Parker), and my Veseys order. That is for 105.
2010 =1,507 bulbs. Yay, highest score ever!!!! (of course, that could still increase, the bulbs will be going on sale at the big box stores soon, and I have been known to pick up one or two on impulse! Want to read how many I planted in 2009, you can here.
I am a floral designer living in a tiny condo in downtown Toronto, Canada's largest city. But on the weekend, I am a gardener/frustrated architect trying to keep up with a 3/4 acre garden in Owen Sound, Ontario, a warm (to Canadians, Zone 5b, and a cold (to Americans, Zone 4b) garden.
Green Theatre 
The Idiot Gardener said,
October 8, 2010 @ 4:50 AM
You need help, really you do. Try Googling “cheap bulbs”, or “rare bulbs”, or even just “bulbs”. I’m sure you can buy loads more!
By the way, if you come across a way to plant even more tuyrnips, please share the info!
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 9:43 AM
I know I need help, some serious professional help. And I am sure that I will buy one or two more!
fairegarden said,
October 8, 2010 @ 8:07 AM
Hooray! You are wise to have so many bulbs, Deborah, for nothing, and I mean nothing beats the pleasure of seeing swaths of them in springtime! The tommies are so small, 1000 is not really that many, but they increase like mad, a good start. Too many is not enough. 🙂
Frances
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 9:45 AM
I have to thank Gail for those picture she had on her blog in the spring, so inspiring. Maybe if I plant 1,000 every year, and they increase, in 10 or 20 years, I will have quite a show.
Marguerite said,
October 8, 2010 @ 8:22 AM
When you say 1500 bulbs that sounds like so many but having just planted 30 bulbs (and thinking that was quite a bit) I can say – go get some more!! No matter how many you have there never seems to be enough. Congratulations on going big.
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:17 AM
I have ordered them from a few mail order companies, (as well as picking some up on impulse), and I find it is easier if I plant them as each one arrives, instead of waiting and planting them all at once, it seems like less work this way.
Edith Hope said,
October 8, 2010 @ 12:05 PM
Dearest D, This is all so exciting and I am certain that you are nowhere near finished with your bulbs yet. Double them, treble them and plant them in their hundreds, thousands…….it will all look glorious. i do so hope that there will be more purple headed Alliums at Kilbourne Grove since they looked lovely last year. Have a happy, bulb filled weekend!
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:18 AM
Oh Edith, I wish that I could afford to plant as many as I wish, I need to win a lottery, because I could never have enough. I did order more alliums for the Lime Walk, although this time it was allium christophii, I am hoping to extend the season of purple.
Sandra Jonas said,
October 8, 2010 @ 12:14 PM
Oh Deborah, I have transplanted THOUSANDS of daffodils and it still doesn not look like enough! Just keep planting, remember its the journey…
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:20 AM
It is unbelievable just how many bulbs you need to get a stunning effect, hopefully after 20 or so years at KG, it will be.
Esther Montgomery said,
October 8, 2010 @ 2:55 PM
How on earth . . . ? That many . . . ? Others seem to be taking this in their stride but to me this is a LOT of bulbs. Fortunately for my family I have not bought as many as you for the ones I bought two weeks ago are still rolling around on the kitchen table. First I was waiting for the ground to be damp enough to break into. Now I’m waiting for the rain to stop.
Esther
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:21 AM
Esther, when I was ordering it seemed like a lot of bulbs. Every year I go through this, (although usually only 500 or so), and every spring I realize it is not nearly enough. So I decided to expand my order a bit.
teza said,
October 8, 2010 @ 4:37 PM
D:
This makes my disproportionally meagre, near invisible 7 Narcissus ‘Thalia’ and Tulipa ‘Saxatalis’ look what…….. pathetic perhaps? Are either of these on your list?
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:24 AM
I have Thalia already, and have left her in both Kingston and the Beach. Hopefully the new owners love her as much as I do. Tulipa saxatalis seems to be the same as bakeri, and I have Lilac Wonder, which I love as well.
Rebecca @ In The Garden said,
October 8, 2010 @ 6:04 PM
That is a big number!! But you do have a lot of space. This is a very difficult time of year, I think we get into ‘gathering mode’ like a squirrel hoarding nuts. We can’t buy m/any more plants, but it’s a great time for bulbs.
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:25 AM
That is exactly it, I am in gathering mode, and I NEED more bulbs. No matter how many I think I have, in the spring it always looks skimpy to me, as you said, I have a lot of space to fill.
Curbstone Valley Farm said,
October 8, 2010 @ 8:39 PM
I bow down to the bulb master! I thought I had a lot of bulbs to plant…but it’s only 430 this year 😛 Looks like maybe you have some snowdrops on the table?
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:27 AM
Very observant Clare, I did buy 100 galanthus. I hope to have a good show from them, got them in the ground early, and when I dug up a couple of them (accidently of course), they had already rooted, that is a good sign. I hope that you have some among your 430.
Jane Harrison said,
October 8, 2010 @ 10:24 PM
One person’s failure is another person’s success and I think you are leaning to towards the SUCCESSul side of the scale. I wish you fair weather in all of your many planting days to come:)
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:28 AM
Thank you Jane, it is much more pleasant to plant in fair weather. Hopefully it will look sucessful this spring.
Garden Walk Garden Talk said,
October 8, 2010 @ 11:39 PM
You are my bulb hero. My goodness, a bulb planting machine. I fret with the measly couple hundred I have coming. I love them next spring, but sorta curse them now.
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:29 AM
I feel like a bit of a fraud, after all 1,000 of them are crocus, they should plant very fast. I love the small bulbs, they increase readily, are usually among the earliest, when I really need them, are less expensive and faster to plant.
Tatyana said,
October 9, 2010 @ 8:58 AM
Why did I come here? I was sure I won’t plant any bulbs this year. Now, I am not so sure…
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:30 AM
Oh oh, Tatyana, I think that you need a few bulbs, what about some snowdrops, we can compare notes again this spring.
Ria said,
October 9, 2010 @ 10:38 AM
Bravo! Bulb addiction is the way of the future! I believe my total currently stands at 540, not including the 200 or so daffodils I want to plant in our tyre wall. but if my bank manager grins at me one more time this autumn I may have to lessen that number slightly! I look forward to seeing your beautiful displays next Spring Deb!
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:32 AM
Yay, I am glad you think so, an addiction that won’t kill you, lol. I am looking forward to seeing your tyre wall filled with daffs, sounds gorgeous.
Catharine said,
October 9, 2010 @ 6:25 PM
OK D but at least it all fits into a bird bath or sim!
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:32 AM
Why do you think that I went for the tiny bulbs, I can’t fathom the idea of planting 1500 tulip bulbs!
Gloria, DakotaGarden said,
October 10, 2010 @ 5:04 PM
Wow! I almost fell over when I read 1500 bulbs, but I was already sitting down! They will look wonderful this spring!
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:34 AM
I hope so Gloria, I am really looking forward to that crocus display.
Barbara said,
October 10, 2010 @ 5:51 PM
Is something wrong with me? I only planted about 60 new bulbs this year and was slightly embarrassed about this extravagance, considering the 100 or so I planted last year. While at the gardening store I asked my husband to pick out some bulbs of his choice for a change, and he deliberated for about half an hour and came up with FIVE bulbs. Geese.
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:41 AM
FIVE, FIVE, what is wrong with him, it is not like they are $100 each. My garden is a bit larger than yours, so I feel that I need a lot more, plus there weren’t any planted when we purchased it. At least you inherited some.
Colleen Miko said,
October 11, 2010 @ 3:30 PM
I would love to hear if you are successful with the fritillaria–I haven’t had the guts to splurge on them in my own garden yet.
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:43 AM
I hope that I am successful, I will let you know. A friend of mine has a glorious patch of them, they even seed around for him.
debsgarden said,
October 11, 2010 @ 4:50 PM
That may be a huge amount of work, but i can’t wait to see the results! It should be spectacular. We gardeners do have our compulsions. I tell my husband not to worry, at least I don’t spend my money on beer, cigarettes, or lots of shoes!
kilbournegrove said,
October 14, 2010 @ 10:43 AM
You and me both Deborah, so I feel justifed spending that money on bulbs.
Racquel said,
October 16, 2010 @ 8:26 AM
That is one huge order of bulbs. I didn’t order as many this year as I have in years past. But I did order alot of things I already have so I can increase the numbers of those favorite bloomers. 🙂
kilbournegrove said,
November 3, 2010 @ 7:00 AM
My garden has only been 4 years in the making, so I still feel like a lot of bulbs. I am sure one year I wil slow down.