WHY AREN”T MY BULBS BLOOMING? Andre the Doodler asked, and (being the sometimes-oblivious type that I am) I said “They can really get exhausted.” Um, yup, apparently literally so, poor dears, or so it sounded to him. All that fighting the big old tree roots for food and water and craning your necks for a bit of sunlight will really do you in. (The details, dearest Andre, of how it works are in this flower-bulb FAQ page.)
I WATCHED A ZOOM lecture the other day that really put into words a lot of the ways my own deepening understanding of ecology is shaking up the way I practice horticulture—from spring cleanup, right on to the last chore of the active year. The lecturer was Rebecca McMackin, director of horticulture for Brooklyn Bridge Park in New York City, where she leads the team that manages 85 acres of diverse parkland with a central focus on habitat creation of woodlands, wetlands, and meadows to build soils and support birds, butterflies, and other organisms.
We talked about the dynamic tactics they use and when and why–a whole different approach to spring cleanup, where the life cycles of animals (from insects on up) dictate what happens when, garden maintenance-wise. Like why some things don’t get cut back, and others that are still seed-laden when they do have their seeds collected and set aside, then returned to the spot after whatever cleanup is needed there.
(Stream it below, read the illustrated transcript or subscribe free.)
These bulbs are simply adorable…Andre’s gardening doodles may well be my favorites. ^^
Welcome, Claire. His world is full of charming characters, isn’t it? As you can tell, I am a big Andre fan, to say the least. Do visit us again, and thanks for your nice comment.
So very Amelia Bedelia! I love the personification of plant life too, as I’m sure that most of us do it. Who hasn’t talked to their plant babies??
ha. my world is full of catastrophic events like being hit in the head by a blind dog and losing my tooth and planting things and then them dying and being excited about the little blue flowers that are just coming up only to discover when standing in the park that the same little blue flowers are here too and thinking – why did someone plant these lovely blue flowers here… oh no wait a minute THEY ARE WEEDS. Catastrophic events everywhere I look/go.
I know exactly how they feel :)
Andre, I do sympathize about the lovely blue flowers! In my dotage I have decided to embrace my opportunities — i.e., the weeds that show up so obligingly in my garden and my lawn. You know, violets are charming in a lawn and I refuse to poison something so pretty (actually, I refuse to poison anything except the evil Houttynia), and I like creeping charlie because its little purple flowers match the violets, and to me it looks like the ground of the Unicorn tapestries — adorable little flowers peeping out everywhere, and no-one jumping on them and saying “You’re a WEED!!!! Get outta here!”
@Andre: Um, “Catastrophic events everywhere I look/go” sounds bad, but I know (being an “insider” to the Andre world, tee hee) that you are beat up but also brilliant, daunted but dead-on GENIUS. *Ace,* as you always say to me: ACE. Busted tooth? No worry. Busted genius? *That* would be a worry. But as your weekly doodles and all your other expressions demonstrate, there is no shortage of AMAZINGNESS in you, despite the bumps and bruises. Love and hugs to you and the Missus Andre and also to the dog who busted said tooth. xoxoxoxoxxoxoxo