365 Days In The Garden

I Planted Bulbs Today

Many things are never too late to start

Planting bulbs on January 6 seems like a big mistake. It’s not the gardening advice I would give to people new to gardening. On the other hand, it is the type of advice I would give on most other topics.

It’s never too late to start.

The backstory:

These bulbs were given to me as a housewarming gift back in October. That would have been the correct time to plant them, but since I had a house full of people when they were handed to me, I placed them on my potting table inside my garden shed in the garden of the new apartment I moved into last summer.

A couple of weeks later, I hosted a Halloween party for my grandchildren. The shed became the witch’s kitchen, and the potting table became the stove where monstrous things were cooking. I covered the potting table with a large black sheet.

There they sat until today. I had been waiting for a mild weather day to stick them in the ground. Finally, today was perfect, so I went into the shed to look for them. Safely tucked away in the dark, they were beginning to sprout.

What I did today:

Because the climate here is very mild, I am confident it’s not too late to plant them. I’ve been in this new country for two years now, and I am getting to the point of understanding things that are different here. In a few weeks, I will be able to buy small pots full of hyacinths ready to be forced indoors or popped into the ground to bloom in a month or less.

Some things have not changed. I used my typical placement method of tossing a few bulbs onto the soil and then planting them more or less where they land.

Once I’ve placed the bulbs, I use a trowel or other tool to make a hole at the correct depth, put them into the hole, and cover them up. Using this approach, it took me less than 15 minutes to pop around 30 bulbs into the ground. Of course, that included the time spent deciding where to plant them.

Initially, I thought I would put them into some of the pots that make up the majority of planting space in my garden, but as I believe I’ve already said, the weather is very mild here. So, except for one empty pot, I’m not sure which of the dead-looking plants in pots will come back this spring. Many of them are still green. Others, such as my chrysanthemums, have surprised me in the past.

What happens next:

I wait. It doesn’t take much more than what I’ve done to end up with some beautiful flowers appearing in my garden. I also watch because the moment when the sprouts pop up through the dirt is always exciting to me. I am sure to write about it when it happens.

The life lesson:

I could have, should have, would have done it sooner if I were always perfectly on time with things. But I’m not that person.

It’s never too late to start.

After I finished college, I took time off to travel, and then I had a baby. I didn’t begin working at what eventually became a career until I was in my 30s. I finally finished my Master’s degree in my 50s. I also started a successful business in my 50s. Then, in my mid-60s, I packed up a few suitcases and moved away from New York to Europe, selling my house and just about everything I owned.

I’m no more sure about the right time to do any of those things than I am about what I should have done with the bulbs. I follow my internal clock and sometimes may seem late, but things have worked out well. If I have no regrets about any of those choices (and I don’t!) I’m surely not going to worry about a few packages of bulbs.

Where things stand now:

Now, in my late 60s, I’m starting a writing practice that I hope will have meaning. I’ve already succeeded again because it has meaning to me. I plan to write every day this year. I’m calling this resolution “365 Days In The Garden,” but that doesn’t mean every day will include gardening in the soil. I expect many of the writings will be about life, even if they start with gardening.

You might also like one of my recent writings on the topic if you enjoyed this piece.

I am a grandmother of two delightful children and have been gardening organically for over 50 years. I’m on a mission to live a healthy, joyful life, and I write about it on Medium. If you don’t already have a membership subscription to Medium, please consider using my referral link when you join.