Friday, October 7, 2011

Dreaming of Muscari


Some readers may recall how, in May, I shared photos of a fabulous outdoor flower show in Albany, New York.

All the flowers shown on this post I took at that show. These photos keep me dreaming of what I'd like our flower beds to look like come next spring! (I like to think of that as hopeful rather than wishful thinking.)



Of all the colorful and gorgeous blooms there, one flower, in particular, has had me dreaming for months. It's called "muscari" or, grape hyacynth.

These little triangles of teeny tiny deep bluish blooms took my breath away.  Planted with colorful tulips, they were true show-stoppers.

Can you imagine my joy when shopping recently in a Job Lots when I found a large rack displaying spring flower bulbs?  My shopping cart veered over there like a nail to a magnet. 




So what if the people walking around the store thought the woman in the short hair was crazy? I couldn't help but belt out, "Yes!  Muscari. Woo hoo. And pink and white tulip bulbs, too! Hurray."

I bought four bags of the muscari bulbs and two of pink and white tulips.  Okay, so I used some of the grocery money. Who cares?  Next spring's flower beds in the front yard are going to be dazzling.

Already, hubs knows to get the chicken wire ready. Once these babies are planted, we have to outwit the band of squirrel bandits who lives in our neighborhood.



They consider our flower beds super duper supermarkets!  Yes, they think they can dig up our bulbs and munch on them to their hearts' content.  Even a thorough dousing with cayenne pepper mixed with water didn't deter those little bushy tailed bandits from eating bulbs this past spring.

Once the muscari and tulip bulbs are planted, in a couple of weeks, the chicken wire will remain in place all winter long.

Next spring, wowsers!  Our flower bed,  if all goes well, should be a feast for the eyes. (If it turns out to be a flop, you'll hear my cries of "wahhhh wahhhh" coming all the way from Massachusetts.)

HAVE YOU HEARD OF MUSCARI?  HAVE YOU SEEN THESE FLOWERS WHERE YOU LIVE?

6 comments:

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Well you know we don't have them over here. I need to look up how to plant these coneflower seeds that Jan sent me. Plus, I have some wildflower seed bombs from Anthropologie I've never tried. Wonder if they will grow in a big pot here? Can't hurt to try. I sure hope you get that dazzling garden come Spring time. Hope your Friday is fabulous. Tammy

Linda O'Connell said...

Your spring garden will be lovely. Every morning I find evidence of a dirty little rat (squirrel) in my potted plant.

Dianne said...

Most bulbs don't do well down here in the heat (Florida), but I do know what Muscari is and would love to see them in your garden next spring!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

I love the little grape hyacinth. I first noticed them way back when my kids were in elementary school and they were growing along the building edge. A teacher told me what they were and I ordered some bulbs.

They have continued to come up every year since but never did spread and fill in large areas as I had hoped. Very sweet though and they require very little care.

Terri Tiffany said...

I love -- like a nail to a magnet:)
I never heard of these flowers but they look like the blue bells or something like that--that grows here in Texas or so heard.

Chatty Crone said...

When I see beauty like this I just have to stop a minute and praise life and God. That is so gorgeous. Can't wait to see yours next year. sandie

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