Thanks Jodi! I'm in the midst of studying for my finals and haven't had much time to get to my gardens, ugh, it's gonna be a mess for me! I do have some hippis blooming and took photos but no time to post right now! Clown, Apple Blossom, Minerva, just to name a few plus many other non hippi items going! I'll post after finals.

By the way, that hydrangea may be a viburnum, the leaves remind me very much of one.

Thanks again, Chaz

A Viburnum? Cool! We bought 4 shrubs, all on sale, a few years ago... one was labeled Mock Orange, this one labeled Hydrangea, and two more... a Spirea and another one. The Mock Orange isn't a Mock Orange, either! Mislabeled shrubs, too!

Well, thanks, Chaz! I hope you can relax at some point, and work in the garden... you'll feel much better!

Love your tulips, Jodi. They all look fabulous! Thanks for sharing.

Chaz, best of luck on your finals. I look forward to seeing beautiful photos of your garden.

Xuan

I agree about the viburnum. THe name "Doublefile viburnum is what came to mind off the top of my head but don't know if that is right. Also, don't know any hydrangeas that bloom at this time of year in the north. Do the leaves color up pretty in the fall? I love viburnums of all kinds! I think they give more to a garden then almost any other shrub because they are pretty in so many different phases.

Looks like we are still in about the same stage of spring. No time or energy here for photos though as I have been digging and dividing my dahlias, which I do every third year. I am about 2/3 done...and my back knows it!

Good thing I did not set my amaryllis out yet. We are in for an "autumn type" windstorm off the Pacific tonight. Their leaves would not appreciate 40 mph gusts! At my sister's, up in Bellingham winds may be up to 60 mph! I hope the bees have been busy in the fruit trees as we may have few blossoms left by tomorrow this time!

I had a good weekend with my business! Sold 5 or 6 bouquets each day. Not up to the times a few years ago when I had to refill after starting the day with 9 bouquets, but still, much better then last year was. Bouquets with tulips sell the best, and tulips are the hardest flower to raise well for us because they all get spots on them.

I have cut way down on my tulip bulb buying because I have lost so many to this disease...over $2000 worth of bulbs 2 different years. Now I buy a few to grow inside in crates, and we divide and nurture the survivors from earlier purchases. We hope to develop some disease resistant tulips here. When we buy food "locally", it doesn't make sense to spend huge amounts of money to import bulbs from around the world...bulbs that have been grown with chemicals for so long they have lost all resistance to disease, and give us only one season of bloom. We finally realized that we could not sell these flowers and call ourselves "Organic". The survivor flowers are small but dainty and delightful! Each year we find more of them growing healthy. This year I have dumped out my crates of early tulips (Bloomed in the greenhouse) and all the bulbs have split into 4 or 5 babies. I am planting the babies in-between the dahlias and hoping for some double-time use of the bed...inter-cropping!

The dahlias fared quite well through the winter. Each clump has one or two mushy tubers but a number of good tubers growing underneath. Except for my favorite of course!
I had a new Dahlia named "Lissa" last year, a waterlily type that was a warm pink with burgundy splashes on it...That one of course had one huge misshapen tuber, rotten on top and no growth buds on it or the midget tubers that hung off the bottom. I am searching for a replacement for it, and my other favorite pink, named "Gay Princess". I ordered replacements last night and got a note on the receipt saying to contact the company, so hope they are not out of these 2! The company, Connell's, is local, just on the other side of Tacoma from the island.

Jodi, gorgeous flowers!!!
Chaz, good luck!
Lizalilly, I am sorry you lost $2,000 worth of bulbs. Wishing you the best!!!

Jodi, looks like spring for sure! Love those tulips and phlox.

Chaz, happy studying and good luck. Let me know when you can come up for air and I'll send you an addition to your Home for Wayward Bulbs ;-) (I think I got that right)

Liza, do you ever use variegated ivy in your bouquets? I've got some that went crazy last year and needs a new home.

HI KIDS!! Jodi, doll, you had me at the first tulip...boy do I miss em and my nose is twitching for that famous tulip fragrance. We get some cut tulip flowers in the Publix Grocery stores here, but no fragrance. My mind still reminds my nose of their sweet smell from the ones my Dad used to grow in Michigan. Thanks for memory lane...tip toe, thru the tulips......ok so I'm old at least I ain't Tiny Tim's mother!

Jodi, so beautiful and colourful flowers you have there! I can only drool from far away. These will not grow in my hot and humid climate. You are so lucky!

Thanks for sharing.

Hatta

The white tulip is so elegant-looking. I think I will try that one next year. I love the tinge of green. Thanks for sharing! :D

Jodi, I took another quick tour of your garden, then mine. I can't believe how far ahead of the east coast here you are in spring!!!! My dwarf and I mean dwarf Iris are blooming but the tall bearded aren't even showing buds yet!!! Looks like you get a longer growing season than I do. I'm very jealous now, completely GREEN with envy! LOL
Thanks again for the tour, I love your tulips as much as the damned tree rats love mine! They eat every colour except purple and pink! And they leave the parrot and fringed alone but the yellows are gone!!! they've neatly clipped each flower off and laid them next to the plant! LOL, between them and the ground hog I'm seriously thinking of getting a paintball gun, it's the only damned weapon I may be able to shoot in the city! LOL

Thank you very much, everyone! Illinois weather is so unpredictable... from year to year it changes slightly, and here in Central IL, I've gained about one gardening zone from my old gardens in the north part of the state.

I wish you luck on your finals, Chaz... though I think you'll do fine! You're study habits seem to be very good ones! I hope you can get out and work in your gardens soon!

I think the secret to keeping the squirrels out of our Tulips is a combination of dogs, barn cats, and planting lots of Alliums in between the Tulip clumps. Most critters don't like the Alliums.

Cindee, funny you should mention the Tulip scent... some of these are nicely scented, and some have very little or no scent. I like to walk past the Lilacs and sniff their fading blooms... I wish they'd last longer.

Lizalily, I wish your Tulips weren't affected by the dampness, or whatever it is causing the problem... I wonder if there's a lesser known bulb you could grow to add to bouquets? Something that could take the place of the Tulips?

While the Lilacs and Tulips may be fading soon, there will be plenty of other flowers to take their place. The Roses are gearing up to bloom, and Iris buds are plentiful this year! There's just so much going on... no matter which bed you look at, there's something growing or getting ready to flower!

Thanks again for the great responses! As I was cutting grass yesterday, I noticed some deep purple parrot tulips and some gorgeous species types that were blooming... I need to get some pictures!

Ah, Jodi, we have tried every bulb available but nothing else has the sheer exhuberant color of tulips! We do quite well with alliums though but then they really need a few tulips to show them off to advantage! Dutch Iris and amemonies work well with the alliums, but I have yet to conquor the anemonies to get enough big bright ones. I think I may focus more on them and learning what they love the best! I bet lots of compost would work wonders on mine. Too bad ranunculus need a dryer climate as their flowers are so pretty! I would like a grow tunnel but really have more going on then I can hande now. Maybe if I get that greenhouse this fall.....? Growing in crates works well for me.

A greenhouse would help a lot, Lizalily. You could force early Tulips, and maybe they wouldn't be affected by anything in a greenhouse environment... more controllable.

I'd say lilies, but those come later. Alliums do come in a few colors, but not enough. Purple, white, pink, and yellow. Not much of a choice. Well... we work with what we have, I suppose. Anemones are something I haven't tried yet. Maybe next year...