Today’s posts are from a gardener who goes by the name “bulbgirl” on Instagram. As you can imagine, bulbgirl grows a lot of very cool bulbs! She lives in southwest Washington State, where there are approximately 50 inches of rain per year and dry summers.
Because of those wet winters and a healthy population of bulb-eating voles, bulbgirl grows many of her special plants in cold frames, with bulbs plunged in sand beds.
One of the fall-blooming snowdrops (Galanthus peshmenii, Zones 7–8)
Iris dichotoma (Zones 5–9), the vesper iris, blooming with beautifully patterned flowers that open each afternoon
Bulbgirl isn’t just about bulbs. Here’s the shady side of her beautiful garden, full of lush and beautiful plants.
Lilium pardalinum v. shastense (Zones 5 – 10) seeds around in the rock garden. This is a species of lily native to Northern California, with lovely hanging flowers with recurved petals.
Calycanthus ‘Harlage Wine’ (Zones 5–9) is a beautiful shrub that’s a hybrid between two different species of sweetshrub, one native to North America, the other to Asia. It boasts these large, showy flowers.
After being grown from seed, this Calochortus venustus (Zones 6–10) is finally blooming after a wait of seven years. But what a payoff! These beautiful bulbs are native to California.
Fritillaria gentneri is a marvelous bulb native only to a small portion of southwestern Oregon and Northern California.
Muscari macrocarpum ‘Wayne’s Clone’. When we think Muscari, most people think of the common, purple species. But there are a lot of very cool unusual ones, like this, that are beautiful—if a lot fussier to make happy!
Canarina canarienses is a beautiful small vine from the Canary Islands. It can’t survive freezing temperatures, so this one is growing in the greenhouse.
Calochortus plummerae has hard-to-believe-beautiful flowers! This bulb is native only to a small part of Southern California but is doing well here in a cold frame protected from the winter wet.
To see more of bulbgirl’s beautiful collection, check out her Instagram: @fritillaria_3
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