I would not plant anything over the top of the tulips. If the tulips were in clumps though, like little bouquets, you could then plant perennials around them. I really don't even think any annuals would be good planted 'over' them as the annuals would likely need watering throughout the season, more than what nature would bring. Something that might be all right though, would be annual cosmos. They come in a lot of different colors, and different heights, and once established a bit early in the season are pretty carefree. I gave BF some cosmos to plant in a small bed around his light pole. I knew he would not water them much, if any after planting and mulching them, so they would have to fend for themselves. He said he hasn't watered them, but then again it has been an unusually wet spring this year. Would plants in pots work for you maybe? Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Cosmos Produces Cosmic Beauty

I wish that Blue Stone Perennials were in Canada...oh well...they did have some heuchera that I don't have here.... LinBar, I don't mind at all that you posted on the Far North. I also love heuchera!!! I would love to see your list of heuchera. I am slowly putting together a powerpoint presentation on heuchera for presenting at gardening events. Lots of info out there for heuchera! The internet is a wonderful source of info. Here is a list of heuchera that have overwintered at least one winter for me on my Canadian zone 2b acreage.... Amethyst Mist Arctic Mist Blackout Brandon Pink Bressingham Hybrids Caramel Cherry Jubilee Chocolate Ruffles Crimson Curls Dale's Strain Dark Secret Dolce Blackcurrant Dr. Sitars Strain Firefly Georgia Peach Harvest Lemon Chiffon Licorice Marmalade Midnight Rose Molly Bush Palace Purple Peach Flambe Peppermint Spice Petite Pewter Veil Plum Pudding Purple Petticoats Regina Ruby Mist Silver Indiana Sparkling Burgundy Stormy Seas Strawberry Swirl Velvet Night Venus and, an unnamed yellow heuchera with green leaves.... These heuchera are new to me this year and I am hoping that they will also prove hardy for me... Autumn Haze Beaujolais Beauty Colour Can Can Cinnabar Silver Dolce Peach Melba Mars Miracle Pewter Moon Silver Scrolls Tiramisu I love the colorful leaves and the small dainty flowers of the heuchera. Brenda

one flower on R. auriculatum has opened 'early' which is interesting because another bud is not even expanding yet, so will presumably bloom during the normal time for that species of August. This is one of those strange single floral buds where the others aborted. You can see the petals are a bit deformed. Fragrance is root beer-y. Here is the new growth on R. magniflorum. It was much redder a week ago but I kept forgetting to photograph it. This and R. auriculatum are very late to leaf out but very different; the leaves on R. . auriculatum aren't as colorful but have the showiest red leaf bracts of any plant besides 'Babylon'. But that leafs out in April, these two leaf out in June. http://www.rhododendron.dk/magniflorum.html Still a very small plant, it survived down to almost 0F, with snow cover, in the 2nd cold winter.

Slightly reminiscent of the endless single or double convos I used to enjoy over on roses. No surprises when I say I favour the singles. Doubles do often stand well and can be longer lasting than singles (resisting pollinators) but for me, it is often a choice between colour and line...and as I favour the excessively gaudy, a certain austerity in petal geometry and simplicity of shape is a useful counter...as my gardens always run the possibility of collapsing into a luridly undefined mish-mash. We make our choices as we can...and in a world where choice is often illusory, I value that process. However, just wanted to reiterate - parrot tulips WTF! Hideous beyond belief...and I am keeping diplomatically silent (on another forum) about my intense dislike of those bizarre 'Ice Cream' tulips. No, no not for me. Single dahlias too...although I might adventurously consider collarettes.