All ye who are sweating in the sweltering summer heat of India, I have good news for you. Spring has arrived in my backyard, bringing with it temperatures in the 60s. Aren’t you feeling cooler already?
Judging by the various projectiles you are hurling at me, I realize it may not be such a good idea to mention temperatures.
So let’s talk flowers. The crocus bulbs I planted 2 years ago (and gave up on last year) finally decided to show up. This was completely unexpected, as not a single one of them had even put out shoots last year. No doubt they had a midwinter meeting under the mulch where they all decided to grow this year. The flowers seem to last only a few days, though, so I missed most of them. Here is one I did catch in full bloom:
The crocuses were an unexpected bonus, but there were more surprises. Do you remember last year’s tulips? I had not expected them to come up again this year, but they seem to have other ideas. They have all come out in full force, and have even started blooming. Other flowers too, you’ll notice, are blooming in my lawn – dandelions. I need to bring out the weed killer spray.
The tulips and crocuses are lovely surprises, but what about the daffodils I planted last year? I worried all through winter that my resident voles would have the bulbs for winter dinners. I was sure I’d see mini campfires at night and voles singing voleheartedly while they feasted.
But the voles have disappeared. No lawn circles this year, and no bulb feasts either, as far as I can see. Still, the daffodils are taking their time. It’s amazing how fast some of them have grown, while there are others which are just piercing the mulch.
Here’s one of the early blooms. As you can see from a look at the lower petal of this flower, the insects, at least are already in force.
So that’s the latest news from the Garden Update Dept. I will post more pictures of the backyard perennial bed later. And then there is the tomato forest that is overtaking the basement. I am sure I can soon start shooting documentaries for National Geographic and Discovery in my basement. Doubtless there are all kinds of animals hiding in that tomato forest.
Odis Sorel
Savvy Aggarwal
Maria
Arindom Borah
Patrix
Nice pictures! Is this the first time you are posting pictures after that hard word for the bed last year?
Yes, these are the first pictures after last year’s hard work..not that there was anything to show for it all these months
We’ll see how many of those perennials come up again.
Yes, that note about the temperature was definitely uncalled for. I am in Baroda right now, and it’s unbelievably hot. God!
All through childhood, we played with dandelions, flicking off their heads. They are so pretty. I refuse to believe they are weeds.
I snipped dandelion heads the other day too, and thought it was a chore – how awful it is to be an adult
To tell the truth though, I was feeling a little bad at cutting them off. You are right, they are so pretty, especially against the green background of the lawn. One could even argue that the real weed, the non-native, fertilizer gobbling, landscape polluting plant is the grass, not the dandelion..
Lovely ! And that indeed is some growth that can be visibly seen !! many many congratulations !
Yes, I am surprised at how fast these things grow, come spring. It’s like they were waiting like a sprinter at the starting block, waiting for the first sign of spring, and then they explode
Forget the weedkillers for the dandelions. I think they’ve evolved to survive it and will just reemerge as hardy as ever. You should seriously consider harvesting the greens and using them in salads, or leave a little something for the wee bunnies to munch on. You’ll be amazed at how popular your garden is for the wildlife outside the tomato forest.
I’m surprised that your daffodils took so long, though. Never fear, they’ll be back, like the Terminator. Even voles won’t dig them up, since the bulbs are not a favorite on the menus of most animals.
Gorgeous photos, BTW!
I don’t even mind the dandelions as much as the crabgrass. Applying pre-emergent seems to have zero effect on them. And hand weeding them is such a nuisance, but has to be done if they grow in clumps on your front yard
(And they don’t even have pretty flowers to redeem themselves 
)
Lekhni
I think the crocuses and tulips are reappearing because these flowers are hardy. I have never done anything to them but in my house (and in my last house) they appear like clock-work every year. In Cambridge, the backs had no clear ‘maintenance strategy’ but the photo-opps provided by crocuses and daffodils make Lent Term bearable. Looks like the same thing at work in your garden.
I am astonished however you have them in April/ May! Here, the fact that crocuses and daffodils have been appearing earlier and earlier – in February this year, a few days before the huge snowfall – has been a topic of discussion (seeing as it relates to the national conversation fodder – the weather). The native species however seem to have been crowded out by European ones which causes people much upset.
But hey let the dandelions be! I think some weeds are prettier than regular plants. I am letting the forget-me-nots, the bluebells etc be. One day you go to bed, the next day there is all this colour all over. I have a rose bush that never flowers – now _that_ I have to take out.
On wildlife, I have foxes. Unwelcome really. If I could shoot some, although I doubt their ‘fur’ is any good, I would make a rug though
The only things that grow in my lawn in February are mountains of snow from the driveway
It’s great to see these are so hardy; they are, after all, non-native and last winter was quite bad. Actually, I’ve been lucky – even the so called hard-to-grow plants like delphiniums have made a great comeback this spring.
I’d love to have a fox in my neighborhood! Much, much better than having deer, or voles.
At least you can eat deer
Urban foxes don’t even have a coat to speak of.
Such beautiful flowers. From my extremely limited knowledge of gardening, I thought that crocuses and other such plants would automatically flower year after year. And I, too, think dandelions look so pretty.
Here’s an example of one limited-gardening-knowledger posing as an expert – me
You are right that crocuses/tulips would come back every year, but apparently flowering is another matter. Since the bulbs use up most of their stored food in the first flowering, unless they store enough food again, they would only be able to flower in alternate years. So I was very surprised to see the tulips flower again 
I did not know that, Lekhni. So would fertilizing the ground somehow help to restore the food supply more quickly for the crocus and tulip bulbs? Or is there no short cut, and one has to alternate the plantings to ensure flowering every year? My pitiful ignorance on gardening-related matters has been exposed with these questions, and I’m sure you’ll laugh at me – but this is all very interesting stuff, and I’d love to know.
Hey, good work there.
Doubtless there are all kinds of animals hiding in that tomato forest. – I will make my next jungle safari to your tomato forest.
Cheers,
Salil
The photographs are beautiful
Cheers!!!
Hi Lekhni…how are you doing….your garden pictures are great!…lovely flowers…