Burgeoning bulbs

bulbs_emerging

One technique I use for fending off the winter blahs is to plant a few bulbs around New Year’s. This year’s crop has just begun to open blooms. There’re both paperwhites and (foreground) hyacinths. The paperwhites aren’t scenting the room yet, but I’m ready for it!

Outdoors here in Atlanta we are seeing the bulbs peeking up and the other day I saw one bulb of paperwhites in bloom, but it’s the only one I’ve seen so far. I also found a crazed azalea in bloom, just one bush, very unusual. Of course last summer one, just one, of our azaleas bloomed four or five separate times. Crazy hormones or something….

What I miss among the springtime blooms are lilacs. I grew up in Michigan and lilac season was my favorite. I always liked the paler lavender ones best, though the darker ones are hard not to admire, too. I understand that botanists have developed a lilac that will bloom here—winters aren’t cold enough—but it’s not the same without yard after yard decorated with those big bloom-clusters.

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