Sylvia's right about topsoil- don't bother, it probably came from some construction site around the corner from you and is the same as what you have - or worse! Clay is very fertile, it just needs organic matter mixed in so it doesn't turn into grease when it's wet and bricks when it's dry. Get a load of compost instead and mix it in with your clay. You say "Not sure if I got enough." I have probably 4,000 bulbs on my 135 x 65' property and I am saying the same thing every fall! What you have is a great start and they will be beautiful. I'm not in your zone so it could be different there, but here most of the bulbs you mentioned are not spring bulbs, they bloom in the summer. Poppies bloom in the early summer and then the whole plant disappears when the heat hits. So it may not be the best combination unless you leave room for the poppies when you plant the bulbs, and then plan for annuals or something once the poppies fade. Good luck!

Well, I decided to go with the advice of the kind of Square Foot Gardening, Mel Bartholomew, and build the trellises out of metal conduit and use steel reinforcing rods in the ground as supports. Everything is so cheap to do it this way, and everyone says it works. I bought a conduit bender and after a few messed up tries, I finally learned how to bend conduit :) I am going to run 5-6 5 gallon containers underneath each trellis. One for peppers, zucchini, green beans, cucumbers, peas, and of course tomatoes. As far as the seedlings in the hoop house, they made it!! We had 4 sub-freezing nights, and they did great. My self-watering trays also are working! I didn't have to water any of the 36 6" pots at all. There is some mold growth on the flower pots, but nothing I can do except open up the hoop house every day for ventilation. But the plants don't seem to mind it, and they are definitely looking better than 4 days ago. In the house the sweet peppers, jalepeno peppers, serrano peppers, kale, beets, peas, green beans, stevia, chives, basil, cilantro, and green onions are doing great. Will plant the basil, cilantro, and green onions in the next few days, along with some bonnie herbs that I picked up at home depot last month (dill, parsley, cilantro, lavender, rosemary, and mint). Of course, I will keep the mint separate :) The cold-weather crops are doing awesome with this cold rainy weather lately. Romaine, Buttercrunch, Swiss Chard, Spinach, all look ready to start harvesting (which we are going to do this evening for dinner). The brussel sprouts are doing well, and their stems are getting very thick already. Pearl onions and Yellow Carrots have germinated and are starting to peek out of the holes of the black garbage bags I have over each of the 5 gallon containers. The arugula is growing, but the leaves look very small. It already bolted a few weeks ago (crazy!) and I have been picking off the flowers. It is definitely working as the leaf production is still going, but I think it would have been looking better had we not had that warm spell 4 weeks ago. The snap pea transplants have made it, don't know how, with 40-50 mph winds and sub-freezing temperatures, with no hardening (whoops). The self-watering system has been hands-free. Working amazingly well. Will see if I can get some pictures up soon.

I planted in the fall - perhaps too early, in Sept - and the leaves never died back. Our winter was exceptionally warm. These look amazing and the stem is FAT. I planted after 2 weeks of chilling the bulbs in the fridge. Then I acquired more bulbs...in the winter...these were also chilled for 2 weeks. A few varieties were planted in the ground in December. A few more were planted in the ground in January. Eight varieties were planted in containers, and started indoors, in February. The container varieties are nearly as big as the fall planted ones, at the stem just above the soil. The container varieties have been outside for a month now. I am newer to this and read a fantastic book. What I read is that if the cloves are not subjected to cool weather, once planted, the clove division and wrapper formation gets messed up, later in the season. Well shall see!

Your gardens are beautiful and perfectly manicured! Red Charm looks wonderful....if I had room for another peony, I think that's one I'd like. Some of the smaller purple alliums grown here, but I love the idea of five feet tall ones! I'm also a big fan of heucheras. This year was the first year that I had all return (knock on wood) as I've lost one or two most years. I have a small collection. They've been spectacular this spring...especially one called Georgia Peach. Well, having said that, I couldn't pick a favorite. Interestingly, I grow mine with epimediums, so it sounds like in more shade than you do. Day before yesterday, I planted two new ones, Plum Royale and Pinot Gris. I'm trying them in areas with a bit more sun. Snow Angel was problematic for me, but I'm hoping this time (the third go round), I've figured it out. It overwintered in a pot last year...in a more sunny area, so it is planted with more sun than most. The mock oranges look to be blooming soon here...can't wait for their fragrance now that the daphnes are pretty much done. Thanks for posting such lovely pictures...especially on a rainy day.