Well kiss my tulips hello!

This was a great year for my tulips. During the Garden Bloggers Fling in Toronto last year, each participant was given a certificate for 100 free bulbs from Colorblends Wholesale FlowerBulbs (seen above). I have to say - they are the tallest, most sturdy, longlasting bulbs I've ever had.

I'm no bulb collector or tulip hound, but from my little expereince with them, these have been the best performers I've ever had. The tulips I've had for years come back each year, maybe a few less each time. Many of them came from Holland - my wife was in Amsterdam and picked up a few bags with exotic colors – reds, oranges, yellows, purples, blues – and they all came up yellow. Buyer beware.

WIVB TV Channel 4 reporter Lauren Hall
posted my tulips on her Instagram page.
no, I don't know her, it was a random
event a mutual friend noticed.

The colors are great. It was a mixed collection and not only are the colors varied, but the heights varied as well, which made for a better view of each as I planted them in clumps. I have bulbs elsewhere in the garden, as you can see from the other photos, but all similar bulbs are the same height, which is fine, but the Colorblends collection is more dramatic with different heights.

I planted them in my hellstrip - the area between sidewalk and road. That area is notoriously poor soil, though I have been adding compost and mulch each year to remedy that. They bloomed AFTER all my other tulips, drastically prolonging my spring bulb season.

Neighbors have all stopped to comment on them. A local TV reporter, just walking by, randomly took a photo for her Instagram page, and someone forwarded it to me. Every day I can hear people outside from my office window remarking on them and taking pictures.

I'm now hooked. I'll have to order more Colorblends bulbs this fall and fill in more of the hellstrip with them. Hopefully many of the tulips from this season will come back. And no, we didn't have any problems with squirrels taking them.

My usual collection of tulips. They've been there for years and I've not added to them in about five years. They come up pretty well each year. You can see the Colorblends tulips in the background hellstrip just starting to pop.

Don't pay attention to the scurvy grass. That will all disappear this spring as I do some finish paver and brick work to the hellstrip to eliminate grass forever.

Couldn't be happier if they were free. And they were!