Heirloombulbgirl

Tag: amaryllis

  • Coming Soon, To a Garden Near You!

    A few years ago, I saw the cutest plant stand while on vacation in Colorado. I thought the idea of “plants by donation” was totally charming. I had an old picnic table and an old farm door, and with the help of some teenagers, put together my first plant stand. It was blown over within a week. Wind and storms in Texas can get brutal! I nursed the poor little plant stand for a few months until it completely fell apart….then I was on to another project. It has been about five years since the original “plants by donation” idea was pressed upon my heart. Now the idea is back in full force, thanks to my husband.

    My husband and I rebuilt and moved one of the compost piles in front of the studio driveway. I’d actually love to close off the driveway completely, and let it be a shaded picnic area under the large old Live Oaks, but that’s for another day. Anyhow, the ugly compost heap got a nice new face lift with some very old 12 foot long carriage house doors that serve as the backdrop for the compost. I put a potting table on one side of the compost, just because it looks so cool. I stacked a lot of the old terracotta pots on top of the table, and Voila! just like that, I saw my future *unbreakable* plant stand! My children and husband had built a cutting garden last year at the studio. I’m thrilled to get some bouquets available for unsuspecting music students. I’ve also been moving Paperwhites to the cut flower garden, so the entire bed won’t be so lonely when all the flowers die back. This week I plan to seed all the Zinnias and other cut flowers. I will also offer heirloom flower bulbs in adorable vintage china teacups and vintage bowls.


    Our small little town does not have a garden shop. Gardeners have to drive for 45 minutes to get to the nearest organic garden shop. Our grocery store carries seasonal veggies and annuals, but nothing really interesting for the garden. There is a non-profit in the works called Keep Llano Beautiful. The plant stand should serve this noble endeavor well. I’m hoping gardeners from all over will add their extra plant babies as well. Take a bulb, leave a bulb. Pass-Along plants for everyone!

    I’m going to get to work on potting up some Heirloom Iris, Oxblood Lilies, Spiderwort, Texas Naives and other hard to find plants. Hopefully, “if the Lord is willing and the creek doesn’t rise”, the little plant stand will be open by the end of April. I will keep you posted.
    Happy Gardening, my friends!
    Love, Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl

  • Bloom in the Freeze

    Another hard freeze came our way…just in time to wipe out all the Paperwhites that are in bloom. Nature is funny that way. If I had a dollar for every time a flower bulb was *just about to bloom* but nature stepped in and wiped it all out, I’d be rich. It’s hard to watch precious flower bulbs have set backs. It’s hard to watch people have set backs too. I suppose we all have moments in our lives when life’s uncontrollable events hinder our instinct to bloom. I read once that people are like stained glass. It is easy to be beautiful when the sun is out and everything is shining. It’s hard to actually shine in the darkness.

    For the last three years, Winter has delivered hard freezes at the exact same time my Paperwhites bloom. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that nature is trying to teach me something. This year, I got wise and covered many of the blooming bulbs with large plastic flower pots. Two days ago, I removed the covering pots to find the bulbs were happy and snuggly….blooms perfectly healthy. What I didn’t realize was that another hard freeze was scheduled that night. The freeze proceeded to wipe all the bulbs out. Nature is funny. Although the heirloom bulbs won’t die from a freeze, I lose the beautiful bloom that happens only once a year. What exactly is the moral of this story? Dig up the Paperwhites and throw them in the compost heap? Give up? Be like dingy stained glass, refusing to bloom in the freezing darkness?

    I don’t think gardeners plant flowers for the moments of perfection. I think most of us like to watch things grow. We learn about ourselves through nurturing our gardens. Our hearts delight in watching a prized cabbage rose bloom for the first time after a long battle with thrips, and our hearts break in the loss of a cherished heirloom bulb, eaten by gophers. Gardeners stay the course, for better or for worse and against all odds, simply to bring natural beauty to dark, technology-driven world. Gardeners are stained glass folks who *choose* to bloom in the darkness. Maybe that’s why I grow flower bulbs….I need to be reminded each and every day to bloom in spite of my circumstances.

    ”The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
    His mercies never come to an end.
    They are new every morning.
    Great is Thy faithfulness, oh Lord.”

    This morning, the weather is in the teens. All Paperwhites have frozen back, but my heart is not defeated. My thoughts are already planning to rearrange the areas with Paperwhites, to make the covering-process more accessible. I am also gearing up for the Spring Bloom, hoping to order some more daffodils from Southern Bulb Company, and some heirloom dahlias from Old House Gardens. Life continues on and next year, I won’t be caught off guard for the surprise freeze.

    Happy Gardening. my friends! Keenan at Heirloombulbgirl