Bulb surprises!

I watered the greenhouse today, something I only do once or twice in the winter in order to just keep things ticking over.  As I was looking around the potting bench, I was shocked to see these:

DSC05199

Normally, bulbs that I have forced don’t come back and bloom–and usually I plant them out in the garden to give them a chance to rest and them grow back to blooming size.  These reticulata iris were forced last year, were soon forgotten and have been in the pot outside ever since.  These are some of my very favorite plants–amazingly beautiful!

DSC05198

Some crocus that were forced last year are also about ready to bloom!

DSC05200

The following narcissus hybrids were also forced last year.  These dwarfs are more likely to bloom again, so this wasn’t as much of a surprise, but their vigor is a bit surprising.

DSC05196

DSC05197

I moved some of the chips from the cut trees to the aisles between the raised veggie beds and also cut the sage herb plant way back.

There’s lots more to do, but I’ll just keep working at it over time and spread out the joy!