I planted bulbs so that they would bloom in succession from late January/early February though October/November This is the succession of blubs in my garden. They would overlap each other somewhat and fill the gaps among perennials. Snowdrops - Eranthis hyemalis - Miniature Iris - Crocus - Miniature Daffodils - Scilla sibirica - Chionodoxa - Puschkinia - Erythronium americanum - Early - Mid - Late season Daffodils & Tulips - Muscari - Miniature tulips - Anemone blanda - Fritillaria meleagris - Fritillaria pallida - Allium afflatunense/Globematers/cristophii- Leucojum estivum - Beaded Iris - Lillies (Asiatic/trumpet/tigrinum/spiciosum) - Licoris squamigera-fall crocus - Colchicum The bulb that gives me the most bangs for the bucks is Allium albopilosum or cristophii. It is so very pretty. The seed head holds itself through late fall-early winter. I took Colston Burrell'a suggestion to heart. He wrote that you can plant thousands of bulbs in your garden among your other plants such as perennials & shrubs. So I planted them in layers in any spot I can find among my perennials , i.e. planting 2 or 3 different kinds of bulbs except daffodils in the same hole. How so? By planting the largest bulb such as Allium Globemaster at the bottom, filling the hole with some soil, putting a medium size bulb such as tulip, adding a little soil, planting a small bulb such as Schilla on top, then cover with more soil. Voila! I tried to choose fragrant and/or anything that blooms the longest. My favorite tulips are species tulips (very dainty, they multiply and come back year after year), Pink Impression (comes back for at least 9 yrs now) Ballerina (blooms the latest - still blooms when Allium begins to bloom). You can get bulbs the most economically from Van Engelen. https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=Van%20Engelen Fritillaria meleagris. Funny looking, isn't it? Impression tulip series: Note that I hardly plant bulbs in rows like a sentinel. I find them much more interesting when planted among perennials. I don't have to worry about fading leaves since perennials will grow and draw attention away from the bulbs' drying leaves.

Larissa, I really like that one, and "selfing" is good. I'll put a sticker on Ferrari's pot to remind me. You're right, they do take a long time to mature -- then planting the seed -- then watching them come up -- then transplanting -- then watching them grow large enough to transplant again (this is where I'm at with last summer's seed). Hopefully, some of our children will someday be displayed on this forum in full bloom :-) Some of the more proficient among us have already done so with great results.

I don't think they even read the inquiry I sent them Here is their useless reply...something I already 'knew' and had stated to 'them'. Thank you for inquiring about our code. > > The first position in our code is a letter which indicates the month > that the product was packed. A=January, B=February, C=March, etc. > > The second position in our code is a number which indicates the year > that the product was produced. 5=2005, 6=2006, etc. > > Most canned vegetables have a 3 year shelf life from the year produced. > Products such as sauerkraut, pickled beets, three bean salad, German > potato salad in cans or glass have a 2 year shelf life. > > Thank you > > Seneca Foods Corporation Sheesh...I told them I had read their FAQ. Do you suppose they misunderstood me when I said, "I went and read the FAQ and found there is a CODE TO DECIPHER the string of numbers that meant nothing to me." Did anyone take that to mean that I still could not decipher the code, or did you think that I went and read the FAQ and found there is a CODE TO DECIPHER the string of numbers that 'had meant nothing to me. I replied to the email, and asked if they had read my inquiry. I clarified myself on the above. I told them I would await a reply before escalating my question in search of a good and logical answer. Sheesh...do you suppose a robot, without a brain, answered me? That was my first thought. Sue

Plans , what are plans when you are in the woods. I am "anti plans". I do the meander with hori hori philosophy of planting. I like to think of what nature would do . Where would the different plants want to grow with a tad of impromptu on the spot aesthetic consideration thrown in . A clumping here and then wander to another outcropping and pleasurable red oak spot and more planting tumbling down the slope. Camp, What is your survival rate in your small seedling plantings the wild. I am hoping for better this winter. The nolina seedlings I put out this spring did horrendously. I found 3 out of 30 or so. But I was fearful of that when I put them out in April but I dug them in anyway. The ground was Dust dry all the way down deep because of how dry the winter was. I was hoping for May rains but they did not materialize. I almost held them back till fall, but then I would not have room to plant more seeds. The perennial garden dilemma..I need to shut up clean the kitchen and get back out to stabbing the ground.