Text and photographs are © by Ellen Spector Platt & Ellen Zachos, all rights reserved.


Sunday, February 1, 2009

ODE TO BECKY HEATH


She taught me in springtime, she taught me late fall
Cram bulbs in containers, smallest ones, top of all.

Plant in layers, in strata, biggest bulbs down beneath,
“Some soil between species, sun and water”, says Ms. Heath.

I forced in a basket, amaryllis in the middle,
Five perfumed narcissus, ten oxalis, sort of little.
Will they bloom by Jan.? (remember, I’m no techie),
Timing ….. problematic, but I trust bulb Queen Becky.

Five layers for summer, large pot out of doors,
With lilies and glads, and dahlias and more.Liatris is in there and oxalis encore,
Tiny rain lilies come last, crowded in to be sure.

When e’er you can’t tell which end to plant up,
Shall you plant on their sides? Ms. Becky says, “Yup”.www.brentandbeckysbulbs.com
photo above with glads ©Alan & Linda Detrick, Ellen Spector Platt design.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your blog is so inspiring-collect trash, plant bulbs, be creative! How about some info. on window sill gardening for those of us without roof gardens. Will the bulbs you've just discussed grow indoors as well?
You've added a bright spot to this dreary weather. Thanks Judy B

Ellen Spector Platt said...

Judy B., The top two photos are of my LR windowsill where the three kinds of bulbs have been growing in one basket since 12/7/08. It's not just the bloom but the
transformation that intrigues. Narcissus sprouted first, bloomed first;amaryllis bloomed next when the narcissus were fading. Oxalis leaves emerged promptly. Today I cut back the narcissus foliage to focus more on the tiny pink oxalis flowers. The whole project is good for about three months. By me, that's windowsill gardening in NYC. Also see posts on amaryllis and house plants: we promise more to come.


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