Cyclamen coum are just so cute. I wish mine had survived. I now have 5 cyclamen hederifolium in the leaf litter under my tree in front - just little hockey pucks right now. Hopefully, as it gets drier in the summer than my backyard, they will hang around this time.

It's my first year with leucojum autumnale, I hope they come back. They are quite dainty - I thought it would be more like the ones that bloom in Spring.

I can't help you on the weakness part - I have hundreds coming my way and I have already planted some this year. :/

Me too, PosieRosie. Unlike some of my dodgier perennial investments (bought, planted vanished), bulbs rarely disappoint. I considier them to be wholly worthwhile - truly the gardener's friend...and ordering now for next spring is one of life's great deferred pleasures - will keep you going through those dreary winter days.

Campanula, I agree, one reason I love bulbs is because I detest winter! I spend most of it reading about Spring and peeking under my mulch to see if anything is sprouting.

When I bought my home, I was horrified that there were no Spring bulbs planted by the previous owners. Turns out it was quite the blessing as I have enjoyed planning and planting new beds. Now, I worry what will I do when I've planted every square inch?

Somebody that goes exactly where I do loaded up on bagged bulbs at Cost Co at least twice without ever getting them planted. There's also some past it bags of small bulbs like grape hyacinths from a garden center waiting to be disposed of.

Who is this absent minded flake that buys bulbs and plants, brings them to where I live or visit regularly and then doesn't follow through? They're sure making extra work for me!

I'd also like to send that old guy that lives in the bathroom mirror packing.

I have a friend like you Embothrium, she (btw, I'm a he) buys plants all the time, and seldom gets around to planting them. She loves gardening, it's not that...I think she's just a collector (lol).

It just so happens that there are two collectors around here and one that works more than me ..Me and the darn squirrel that likes to pack my bulbs away too..

Funny thing is that when I do finally get to plant a few in areas I want them to grow,, in nice design, , I always find plants coming up from a different area unexpectedly that I never planned on..lol

Hope you like surprises..I'm hoping crocus tommasinianus is truly unattractive to squirrels.

....never planting is probably a little better than slicing a whole clump when trying to plant your newest bulbs in the same spot. You've killed the old bulbs and still need to find a spot for the new.

never regret buying though... I don't think I've ever looked at the boxes arriving and regretted ordering them. I may have forgotten ordering them, but I never regretted it :)

It's the Surprise Assortment!

When the bulbs bloom, I only regret that I did not plant more. :)

Yes, I'm with you there! I'm hoping I don't slice too many this Fall when my big order comes in.

How many bulbs do you have now? Do you have creative ways to keep planting more in limited space?

My favorite drawing from Joseph Tychonievich on his Arrowhead Alpines blog. My 300 tulips are due next week.

Another

Haha - It's like he knows the inner workings of my soul!

Bulbs are relatively under control (so far) but seeds!!!

I have taken to filing them alphabetically (but out of sight) in a seed cabinet (actually a hardware, nuts, bolts screws thing)...as the sight of uncounted little packets is throwing me into desperate anxiety. Like bulbs, they are an investment into a future horticultural paradise of abundance.

I'm determined to not drown under a flood of seed packets. Each winter I sow dozens and dozens of pots, top them off with a layer of gravel and toss them outside into the cold. I won't say whether or not they are then better off then but at least the guilt of unsown seeds is off my conscious. I did plant a few more of last winter's brood just today. That's another dozen empty pots to refill this winter.

I'm also determined to not buy another tulip this fall. Last spring there was the grey mold of botrytis all over the tulips and I'm going to see what happens this spring. I was at that point again of having too many so I guess it was time for a disaster.

So instead of more tulips I'm adding millions of new small bulbs. They fit in so well, but are so special I have to make sure each one goes into just the right spot. Stupid me thought it would be a good idea to buy named little bulbs this year, they must be so much better than the boxstore bags which have dozens of anonymous bulbs inside... but they have no fancy name of course. The down side to all this is my garden will look like a mouse graveyard with all the little labels poking up.

Well, I bought sixty dollars of named bulbs (very few) and about forty of just species. It took about fifteen minutes to plant the special ones...and will take hours to plant the two hundred plain ones. I'm almost too old to think about bending over to make two hundred holes in the lawn for the crocus tommaniansus.

I planted crocus in the lawn last fall... I call it my bunny buffet, it was very popular :)

i used a masonry hammer and it went fairly quickly. I heard about it somewhere here on this forum.

Well rumour has it that tommies aren't as attractive as other crocus to the critters...this may prove out to be false...we'll see.

Where else (besides the lawn) would I plant them...and nothing I have is bunny (or squirrel) proof...darn city critters.

I use a heavy landscaper's bar for the smalls - violently jabbing downwards 50 or so times, then onto the kneeler to prod the little bulbs in - managed 600 in reasonably short order last weekend. Was more bored than knackered.

I didn't buy tulips for 4 years, having concentrated on the woodland...but made amends this year with 480 (although 140 are tiny species). The most expensive were t.sprengeri at $6 each - bought 5 but only for the future seeds.

The miserable return rates of tommasianus crocus in the wood suggests creatures find them to be delectable...unlike snowdrops, squill and narcissus...and, most surprisingly to me, camassias.

Well c'mon - what are these named specials then? We need to know.

Lol, mostly named selections of fall flowering and spring flowering crocus (including tommies)...and rare species.

Fall crocus: kotschyanus, laevigatus, nudiflorus, pulchellus, serotinus, and speciosus.

Spring flowering: biflorus tauri,gargaricus, korolkowii, tommasianus (albus, 'Lavender striped') and versicolor 'Picturatus'. Also have minimus coming from a larger vendor as well as the mass order of tommies 'Lilac Beauty' and chrysanthus mixed.

I have some odd things still on order, a selection of species tulips (25 bulbs, (quote from vendor site: Tulipa clusiana var. chrysantha, dasystemon, humilis violacea, Little Beauty, saxatilis, Taco (8" to 10" soft red and yellow with yellow interior), clusiana Tinka (10" cardinal-red edged in yellow) and turkestanica), narcissus cantabricus, Mustn't forget some california natives and misc that I need to mail out with a physical check (ick) as mentioned in original post.

And yes, due to pricing and funds availability, I'm hoping for seed set and corm increase to make small clumps in 4 or 5 years (lol).

I guess I'm not surprised to find that camassia is critter resistant, they're such a big succulent bulb with foliar mass, that they must have SOME protection built in. Come to think on it, I'm not sure I've ever seen any significant damage to them or their foliage.

Ok, since you forced me to look at my order again, I had to call and have 25 hyacinthoides hispanica added to the order. They should behave here and not be a problem.