Well, I know they got well chilled in that cool dark room over the course of winter. About mid-March I potted them all up using 8 and 10 inch pots. Packed in the tulips well, I think 6-8 per 8 inch pot, 10-12 per 10 inch pot. Only filled the pots halfway with potting soil, then set in the bulbs and barely covered them with soil. My solarium in general is warmer than the outdoors- it's pretty much a large three seasons porch. I put the pots onto the potting bench I have stretching across the south face of the room, and when they started showing serious leaning, I moved the pots under the skylight. By the time the first weekend in May hit, the earliest of the tulips was just getting past peak, and the latest of them was just starting to come into bloom. You can dry out your bulbs in a single layer- like spread out on the kitchen table or something like that. After they are dry, you can store them in a mesh bag in a cool dark place.

1. Ferns of all types and sizes for shade areas: http://gardenhobbies.com/flower/ferns.html 2. Hostas of all types and sizes for shade areas: http://gardenhobbies.com/flower/hosta.html 3. Bulbs Flowers are more problematic. There are many varieties that thrive in partial shade. Check the back of the seed packet for light needs of the plant. Bulbs provide a tremendous opportunity to provide color in a shaded environment. Spring flowering bulbs will grow in the spring before the leaves develop. Look for early blooming varieties. 4. Bushes and Shrubs are no stranger to shade gardens. Try Rhododendrons and Azaleas. They are often used as foundation plants around the northern sides of houses. 5. Hydrangeas are rather easy plants to grow. They prefer loamy, well drained, acidic soil (pH 6.5 to 4.5) enriched liberally with organic matter. Most hydrangeas prefer quite a bit of shade, although H. macrophylla and H. serrata will tolerate much more sun, but will still flourish in mottled sun for part of the day. It is important to keep the roots moist and well fed by covering with mulch; this is especially true with those planted near trees. They may also need protection from spring frosts, which can kill the buds. In some species, the flowers change color according to the amount of aluminum and level of acidity in the soil. H. macrophylla will produce blue flowers in acidic soil where more aluminum is present. The lower the pH, the bluer the flowers. In neutral soil, they take up less aluminum and the flowers are pink. On white flowers, only the eye color of the male flowers will change. To produce blue flowers even if your soil is neutral or alkaline, add aluminum sulfate or sulfur to increase acidity. Plants grown in soil with a pH level higher than 7 (alkaline) can also become chlorotic because of a lack of iron and must be treated accordingly. Pruning should be done in late winter or early spring. This consists of cutting off dead flower heads back to the first leaf node that has buds and dead, weak, or crowded stems back to the base. PRUNING: Question: I have just cut my hydrangeas back - some of the old stalks had new buds, and I cut them all back. There are other buds coming from the base of the plant which seem to be fine. I'm hoping I didn't ruin this year's growth - I live in New England - on Cape Cod. What can I expect from the plant this year??? Answer: Unfortunately you may have pruned away most all of next season blooms. The ideal time for most hydrangeas to be pruned is late summer before buds are set. Buds form on 2nd year stems. Information "How to Prune the Hydrangea Types" written by Richard Weir or Long Island Gardening thru contact with Cornell Univ. Co-operative Extension. Use Monty's Joy Juice orange label (2-15-15) on the roots or spray the leaves and see the difference. Two tablespoons Epsom Salts around each plant every 6 weeks during the growing season should prove helpful.

Hello eks6426, A lavender house! You are so lucky. My husband would never consider that for a house colour, but I think it would be great! You sure have a lot of window boxes. I only have 6 on my house, but here is what we did late last fall: After pulling the summer flowers, we cut red branches (I think it was a dogwood, but not sure) from beneath a powerline ( cleared every couple of years anyway, and we weren't trespassing because it's public access). We also cut boughs from white pines in the same place. The pines were small and would have been cut down anyway. Lastly, we stopped on the roadside and cut staghorn sumac branches with fruit. At home, we inserted the red branches upright (cut to preferred length) into the soil in the boxes and then inserted the pine boughs around the edges. The sumac was added as a final accent - kind of like a winter bouquet. Closer to Christmas we strung white mini-lights around the boughs in the windowboxes. I did water the soil once before hard freezing here, just to keep the boughs green. They lasted until spring, for the most part, when I pulled them all out. Sorry I didn't think to take a picture. You are in a similar zone as me, so this might work for you. I waited until late October, but only because I never got around to it until then. I'm going to try for earlier this year. Good luck with your painting. I hope you post pictures when you are done. Balsam

For winter I sometimes fill the box on my front porch with evergreens like cedar branches and pine boughs and cones. Also holly and things like bird food bells and balls ...just not suet. It brings rodents!!! I think this year I may put a few of the tea cups on sticks things for the birds in it. I have made small villages in the box and have even found small statues to place in there. Just because there is nothin' bloomin' doesn't mean it is boring. This box is veiwed from less then a foot away and is only about 3 feet high. It has to be inviting like this.