What the armadillo left me

Since armadillos not only like to dig holes in pretty lawns while they search for grubs, but also destroy flower beds in the hunt for bulbs and my flower beds were a mess before I caught up with my own personal armadillo last fall, I overcompensated when it came time to buy daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths.

This morning, with the sun shining and the temps in the 50s, I got to rue that decision.

Normally, I wouldn't have bought daffies or hyacinths since they come back year to year. But I didn't trust that to happen, so armed with 45 hyacinths, 100 tulips, and 40 daffodils, I started digging my own holes.

I've never held to the theory that they have to be planted WAY deep. Two or three inches has served me well and digging any deeper in our black clay soil requires more strength than I have or have had. I made my plan and put foot to shovel and found...

... bulbs. Several inches high in fact, nestled under piles of large sycamore leaves from our neighbors' down the street. I shall save my ire and think of them as a protective layer against the cold. I had to hunt around my previous hyacinths and indeed find a few new places, to plant the 45.

I ran into similar circumstances with the daffodils because I always go back to the same holes to dig. Go figure. However, there weren't any signs of budding tulips and really, not that many daffies.

My armadillo had a thing for tulips, would take a daffodil if hungry, and snubbed the hyacinths. Lucky me?

Hardiest of the foolhardy

After our second round of snow, ice, and record-setting low temps, we are inching back into the 70s, which is a bit warm for February but I haven't heard any complaints from man or beast.

However, looking upon my flower beds I find that the bulbs have endured the snow and ice quite well. The daffodils are up over an inch in the old beds. The hyacinths are new and already breaking ground.

Alas, there are a few foolhardy tulips trying the same. Tsk, tsk. They won't fare as well if (when?) we have another round of it. They'll be making me work to cover them with newspaper and weight it down with brick, only to hope they don't get their little tulip noses freezer burned.

Welcome to Texas, I'll say. May your bulb be well fed enough to try again next year.