Choose a variety of early blooming tulips such as Single Early or the Fosters if you want the foliage to die off quickly in the spring. If you improve the soil, would you consider putting your tomato and annual plants directly into the ground next summer? I don't think I would put as much as 50% Promix into the garden. I would suggest only 25-30% Promix, and then add your compost and some type of topsoil (bagged or otherwise).

Okay. I have one and I love it. That being said, I wish it wasn't in my back yard. We've had high winds this year, more so than usual, which is saying something since the prairie is a windy place. What bothers me is that many of the branches that come down from our 40 ft tree are as big around as 2 to 3 inches. Plenty big enough to crack a head open ... but I've had to get on with garden chores in spite of the wind. A bit worrisome. Ours was probably planted soon after the house was built, so I'd guess it to be about 35 years old. It's bloomed for the 9 years we've lived here. I know when it's blooming because the blooms are fragrant. Haven't read that elsewhere ... but it's true for ours. I was smelling it's sweet fragrance this evening. Not terribly strong, but I can always tell when the first flush of blooms have opened. It's hard to say about mess ... Yes, it's brittle and drops lots of branches. So does our maple. Its buds, which are about 3 inches long and an inch or so thick, drop off like hand grenades when the wind blows. But the maple showers us with its whirlygigs. Oaks do the acorn thing and so on. So I sort of think that's hard to determine ... Still, if I'd been the one choosing a backyard tree, I think I would have chosen something else. Don't ask me what. I haven't a clue. Unless a branch knocks me senseless, I don't think my husband will entertain the notion of replacing it. I've provided a link to the Missouri Botanical Gardens information on Liriodendron tulipifera. You might want to read the various reviews for some interesting information. Here is a link that might be useful: Liriodendron tulipifera at Missouri Botanical Garden

Of course all those lovely trees are gone - we live in Oklahoma, where they practically fell all the trees and all the wild perennials in order to build, build, build! Ooh, I get mad when I think about it. That's why I bought my house close to downtown OKC in the older, historic district. I have TREES! While I sometimes get upset because the neighbors who own the trees don't take care of them (they're all planted way too close together), I am still glad I have them surrounding my back yard. Hackberries, Elm, huge old viburnum (about 30' tall), redbud, cottonwoods, you name it. Actually, I'm finding more and more that the trees are to be found in the direct urban areas and less and less the further you go out from there. Your poor little hummer won't know what to do. I hope he or she sticks around. My little hummer is back again now, and when I noticed him the other day, I had not put any sugar water in the feeder. He looked at the feeder, and then turned and looked at me sitting on the porch, like he was saying, "What's up?" I have lots of plants in the garden, and with the rotting banana drawing fruit flies, the hummer LOVES those. I went ahead and mixed up a batch of sugar water for him, and he was back this morning at the feeder looking VERRRRY satisfied. Bernergirl - delphiniums! I'm so envious because these are northern plants - they HATE Oklahoma, and even tho they sell them at the nurseries, I don't buy them cuz they just melt in our heat. There are lots of plants you can grow up there that we can't because it's too hot here. Once again, the Mexican sunflowers did not come up. Oh, well. The Mexican Flame vine is blooming and it's so pretty. The firebush (hamelia patens) is just about to burst into bloom - I bet the hummer will love that, too. I planted out my 4 o'clock 'Broken Colors' for the moths - hope it gets huge and comes back next year. Also planted my solidago 'Wichita Mountains' (a shorter version) bred by Steve at his nursery in Clinton, Oklahoma (Sunshine?). So far, knock on wood, my echinacea pallidas are finally starting to put on some growth. I'll be anxious to see how they do as a nectar plant. A big, beautiful Black Swallowtail came to visit this morning (I rarely see them, altho they do leave eggs frequently), and was all over the pink zinnias. They really like pink, don't they? I finally figured out why I have so many Silver-Spotted Skippers - my neighbor has a humongous wisteria, and that is a host plant for them. I need to go check his vine, but I can only check so much of it - too big! The skippers were just going mad this morning. They roll, dive, twirl, and dance thru the air. My walnut sphinx is pupating - had to quick get some dirt in the bottom of the container. As soon as I did - he buried himself. I have Gulf Frits out the gazoo! So many of them, I'll have GFs now thru fall. Pinching out the aristolochia - just like I pinch out other plants - at the tip. It works well with tomentosa and clematitis. Clematitis especially responds well to pinching, branching at the tips and sending up new basal growth. But, the tomentosa does, too, and the serpentaria. Oh, Sandy, A. serpentaria likes shady areas, so you might find it walking thru wooded areas, close to streams, rivers, etc. That is it's habitat, and it is native to Oklahoma. Susan

If you look around some bulb dealer web sites you may find one offering a packaged mix you would like. I've even seen these at CostCo before. Possibly the combination in the picture was one a supplier put together also. I think most of the time the combinations I've seen here had each kind in its own labeled bag. So when planting the consumer can control how they are arranged, relative to one another.