On 1st September, started my new part-time teacher/part-time flower grower life. So on a Tuesday when everyone was in school, in what looked liked a sunny patch, but which turned out to be a sequence of heavy showers, made my first visit to the plot for weeks. Went to plant some of the hundreds of bulbs which, yet again, I have enthusiastically over ordered. When I got there, the slugs and nettles both looked healthy and vigorous and so I spent most of my time trying to reduce both before I began to think about planting a bulb.

The messy plot from a distance

Before setting out, I had opened one of the two heavy cardboard boxes which arrived from Peter Nyssen with my bulb order. Opening it up, gave me pause to wonder what optimism had made me think I could easily plant all these bulbs up.

Just one small sack of many

Took over a hundred bulbs out, but just managed to get 20 narcissus Cragford in the ground. It was a start…

After the skin tingling punishment of wrestling with the nettles for a couple of hours, it was a  relief to settle the large, firm healthy bulbs onto a layer on pea shingle in their short rows just inside the boundaries of the plot. Couldn’t decide whether to treat these bulbs as annuals and shallow plant them, or plan to leave them where they are and plant them more deeply. In the end, went for the second approach, but still think might need their space in late Spring.

Back at home, planted the remaining bulbs I had taken to the plot (and more) in pots big and small for inside and out. Still sacks and sacks to go, but feeling optimistic as have started earlier this year and have more generous time to do it.