Earlier this spring, I was at Costco and saw a large bag of about 50 spring garden bulbs for under $20. It was a purple color mix of gladiolas, dahlias, and calla lily bulbs and I got very excited because it was one of my first gardening project of the year, and my first project at our new house.
I found a spot in the back yard along the fence that was sunny and would be a perfect place for some colorful flowers. I definitely wanted the flowers to be in the backyard so that they would be protected from being eaten by the deer that come around our house every night. The ground was very hard, and you can only go a few inches before hitting a layer of rock, but Jon was able to help me dig a large enough plot for the bulbs.
I planted the bulbs in mid-March and started to see the gladiolas pop up in a couple of weeks. The calla lilies popped up a couple of weeks later. The dahlias were the last to come up. I was worried they wouldn't come up at all, thinking maybe I watered them too much and that the bulb rotted. Luckily, 3 of the 4 tubers ended up showing.
I loved all the different pinks, purples, reds, and oranges of the gladiolas, the lilac color of the dahlias, and the complimentary yellow of the calla lilies.
The spring bulb bed has died down recently during the extreme heat of the Texas summer days. I'm looking forward to next spring when the bulb bed fills out even more and I can have even more beautiful fresh cut flowers for my home.