~ Heirloom Frangrant Narcissus ~

A Spring Gardening Project.

Earlier in the year Liliana and I had a lot of fun scrolling back and forwards through bulb catelogues online. Most we bought when the bulbs went on special at the end of the sale season. But this can mean you miss out on some favourites.

Our aim was to select some lovely miniature heirloom bulbs to plant in a raised garden bed that would otherwise be left dormant over the winter months. (By dormant I mean covered in 15-20cm layer of hay mulch until Spring crops are ready to plant).

Small amounts of bulbs, that could be planted in rows, labelled, notes taken, and then at the end of the growing season assess what we would like to grow more of next year.

It has been such a lovely project, better than I ever could have expected.

With Winter coming to a close these sweet little bulbs started to grow leaves and then their cheery flowers lit up the garden.

Each morning Lil and I would go out to check on them. Throughout the day we would stop to admire them. At the end of the day checking one last time, just to see if more petals had unfolded.

Like a mama hen checking on her chicks, we fussed about them and each time picked flowers just before the rain set in, worried they would otherwise be sopping wet and the weight  of the rain would knock them to the ground. (It is so miserable to see such a cheery flower that only blooms once a year for such a short time face down in the mud).

We planted a lot of bulbs in the early years of living at Fairy Wren Cottage and this past year several hundred more. Lil and I are looking forward to planning another bulk planting for next Spring. To hold space for such a timeless flowering bulb is truely wonderful. There is a mindfulness that comes with growing Heirloom Fragrant Narcissus, with such a presence in the garden they help us fall back inlove with gardening after the darker months of winter.

Sending Love,

Jude x

Ps. I’ve deliberately not listed everything we have planted. Hoping that if you decided to do a similar project you have just as much fun as Lil and I did choosing your favourite bulb varieties in the catalogues.