As an adult I haven't planted bulbs early enough in a home to be able to enjoy them the next spring. I've always waited until the yard is more established and I've then moved before being able to enjoy the spring bulbs. This was mentioned to the fiancee by yours truly and he respnded with 'challenge accepted!' There was a subsequent comment after I went bulb crazy along the lines of 'Did you get enough?!'

I love spring bulbs. I love that you plant them and forget about them and they're super easy. I love the color they provide after the freezing snowfalls and baren tree limbs all winter. I will always be drawn to variegated colors and twists on tradtitional flowers that I remember from my childhood although every year I'm tempted to get the giant bag of traditional yellow daffodils. Every year I end up getting several different types instead. Most of the bulbs pictured are from Winco and Home Depot. They have yet to all come up this spring, but they've started! I've had a total of 4 crocus and one mini iris. I've had a handful of daffodils bloom their 'happy spring!' greeting and it couldn't make me happier!

Side note, I planted a peony plant last year and it never bloomed. It has started to come up with the other bulbs and I hope that she blooms with the sweetest fragarance! She should be bright magenta, but I'm really not picky so long as she's got some color! I was also gifted an asiatic lily for my birthday (September) that is shades of pinks and yellow and it has started to show some greenery so I'm super hopefull I get to see her sassy brilliance! I was gifted by the fiancee's parents for Christmas two more bags of tulip bulbs. Merlot and yellow in color. But I didn't get them in the ground before it froze over and then in late January one bag started to sprout! So I googled and researched and found that if I could elvate the bulbs from the bottom of a vase (or four), I could 'plant' them in water. They actually rest just above the water so the roots will be submerged and not the bulbs. I could not find marbles or large sphyrical objects that would be pretty around the house and I was wanting to avoid purchasing anything but our yard is filled with rocks. So I rinsed rocks off and submerged them in water in vases and rested the bulbs on top! I added water every couple days to keep the bottom of the bulbs submerged and we determined the best spot for all the bulbs would be by the front window. In about a week I was getting my first bloom! But I was also getting mold on my bulbs. I kept watering. As the days progressed the bulbs with mold kept getting moldier and the bulbs with growth kept growing. But I had more mold than growth. By the end of March I had one full bloom and a partial bloom and various green leaves rise up. Sad, but a learning experience! I would like to try it again next year with fully cleaned rocks and only bulbs that are showing growth, not all of them. I think I'd have better luck but only time will tell!

And on a negative note, I think our friend Fred the snake has returned to live under the stairs to our front door. Yes, they are cement steps. No you cannot kill snakes in Utah, it is illegal. No, they aren't my favorite, but at least he's not inside! He's rather harmless, but he sure does wriggle and slither and this is most distressing.

More to come as bulbs grow!