In my 8 years of bulb hunting, I’ve never seen the jonquils, campernelles, grand primos, Lent lilies, and Italicus (These bulbs available for purchase in the fall.) all blooming at once in late January/early February as I have this last week.  It seems like just yesterday it was Christmas….

Christmas at the Cabin

Christmas!  Well, in our blogging absence, we were in fact still alive.  However, I didn’t fill you in on all of the details.  We had a little get together.  Brad, a former Southern Bulb/Red Cabin dweller came out with his wife and baby.

Brad, Katie, and Baby Ford Fishing!

I was having fun enjoying the Instagram  photo app, so I hope you enjoy some of the photos as well.  Brad’s son is a natural fisherman.  About a week after the get together, we were able to head up to Utah to see my brother.  It was so beautiful up there, and I am thankful for at least a little cold weather experiences this winter.

Chris in Utah!

Rebecca, my brother John, and a friend, Will enjoying the sites!

All the while, the paperwhites (Narcissus tazetta papyraceous) were blooming at the cabin and at other places.

Red Cabin at Christmas

Paperwhites Blooming at Christmas

I never expected that only 3 weeks later I would see this scene in Hempstead, Texas last week.

Hempstead TX

Just south of Highway 290, on the little road to Hempstead, Texas there was an abandoned lot FULL of grand primos (Narcissus tazetta ‘Grand Primo’).  I don’t know if the camera did it justice, but it was quite a beautiful site.  I have some more photos from Hempstead, but I’ll share them tomorrow!

Hempstead TX

Blooms in Hempstead TX

Narcissus tazetta ‘Grand Primo’

Narcissus tazetta ‘Grand Primo’

Crinum Bulb

Question:

Sally from VA posted a great question regarding when to divide her crinum!

“I’d like to divide a crinum bulb that’s been in the ground for 5 years. May I do it in March, as the spring in virginia begins? Or, should I do it now, in January?”

Rebecca with Crinum Bulbs

Response:

“Thank you for your inquiry! Now would be an ideal time to divide your crinum unless you’re worried about exposing them to freezes. If the weather is going to zap them with below 30 degree temperatures or harder, wait until hard freeze danger is over. (or protect them after dividing) You’ll lose a little head start of spring growth, but all will be fine in the end with these aggressive summer growers.”

Happy Gardening!

Chris and a Crinum Bulb

Snowflake (Leucojum aestivum)

“… My mother planted Snow drops and spider lily bulbs 59 years ago when we moved…I just sold my farm/ house and I am wondering about transplanting some of those bulbs to Mississippi when I move there. I would like to take some of the bulbs to my daughters garden in about 2 weeks and take another planting when I get 60 years of moving done the end of April. Will these bulbs transplant easily? – and how do you do it?. They have multiplied over the years and follow a walkway down the hill to the lake. and have never needed any care.  I am not far from you…Winona, Texas. I shall miss this country but Oxford, Mississippi will be a new adventure. ( I first met you there when you came to speak to the garden Club and a friend of my daughter’s brought me as a guest..) …”

Lent Lily

Over the weekend, a gardener in the Austin area and I were discussing the possibility of her early budding trees being hit by a springtime freeze. Anyone else waiting with bated breath, expecting a sudden drop in temperatures to damage any early budding trees? She mentioned a fun saying that went something like…thunder in January, ice in April. We had some pretty powerful thunderstorms across Texas last week, so who knows, maybe a late spring freeze is in store for us this season.

Anyone else know of a fun weather related saying?

I must admit anytime I see cows lying down in a field during the day, I look up to the sky expecting a rain shower that day.

Have a great Monday, everyone!

Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf

Well, that won’t be a problem! Have you heard the buzz about Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf? I cannot think of anything more apropos than a book that traces our history of gardening in the United States back to our early presidents.  I think many of you will be shocked to see how important horticulture was to these early leaders.

Hardy Amaryllis Bulbs

Quickly, on a bulb note—what do you know about bulb sizing?  Well, not all bulbs grow to the same sizes, but Amaryllis have been known for being some of the larger bulbs.  The hardy amaryllis (Which we will be releasing for sale next week!) don’t grow as large as their hybrid counterparts, but there are still different sizes.  Both of these bulbs will bloom this spring, but the larger bulb could even possibly have two blooms inside of it. To the point though, bulbs are normally measured in circumference.  These two bulbs have the respective sizes of 25.5 cm and 18 cm.

We look forward to putting them into your hands next week, BUT be careful to guard them against any of these bad freezes that are most likely lurking around the corner.

Happy Friday!

Hardy Amaryllis Bulb

Narcissus 'Golden Dawn'

Just down the road from the cabin, the Lent Lilies (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) are already beginning to peek!

Narcissus pseudonarcissus 'Lent Lily'

Narcissus pseudonarcissus 'Lent Lily'

And then this from a follower yesterday.

“Here in North Georgia we have had a very wet and mild winter and the early old fashion daffodils have been blooming for a week now.  I call them Grandmother’s Johnny Quills because the bulbs came from my Grandmother’s yard who never called them Daffodils or Narcissus .  She absolutely refused to call them anything but Johnny Quills.  She once told me that Johnny Quills was the appropriate southern name.  ”

Narcissus jonquilla

I have never heard them called Johnny Quills before.  Thank you faithful blog follower and friend for writing in and introducing us all to a new word.  Now, I’m not getting my hopes up.  I imagine the large mass displays of jonquils and Lent lilies will come in mid to late February, or even March as they normally do, but this unusually mild winter sure is giving us a sneak peek.

Rebecca was in Houston and I was at the cabin when the video came in, and I was excited and told her “The Great Race”   had finally come –she had really wanted me to watch the movie.

The Great Race from Netflix

I left for a talk for several days. (I think it was the Atlanta Perennial Plant Association) While I was gone, we also moved in our new piano.  When I arrived back home, we looked for the movie but could not find it.  The two of us assumed I must have thrown it away, so we went back to the farm where we began to go through all of our trash bags that were in a dumpster!

Hey, it’s $15 for a lost Netflix DVD!

The result…nothing.

After 3 or 4 more complete sweeps of the cabin (and that takes longer than you would think in 550 square feet), I sadly resorted to blaming the piano movers.  The DVD was long forgotten, until a customer service question came in today.

Chinese Sacred Lily

Rebecca was answering the question on Chinese sacred lilies, and she turned to Scott Ogden’s Garden Bulbs for the South for some advice. You will never guess what was inside the book, tucked neatly between the pages!  Looks like we have a movie to watch this week.

Chinese Sacred Lily Clump

I first saw  Chinese sacred lily bulbs blooming near Schulenberg, Texas, an old German community along Interstate 10 in Texas known for its many beautifully painted churches. That was in January, and for many years I saw them blooming in January. Their golden cups usually catch my eye first, but if they are hidden with some other winter growing plants in a garden that I might be visiting, I can sometimes smell them first.

As you can imagine, we love hearing from you all, but answering customer service questions is generally not quite this rewarding! Thanks for helping us solve the missing Netflix DVD mystery.

Winter Blooming Narcissus

Oh yes! We have a barn cat now to keep the rat out who has been eating all of our bulbs. His name is Jasper Dale.

The Barn Cat - Jasper

Jasper tries to help with shipping bulbs but usually gets sent back to the barn. As we gear up for a fantastic spring, please stay tuned. 2012 is going to be a terrific year!

Jasper the Shipping Cat