The Bulb Brigade

 Monsella Tulips

 When the chilly days of April arrived, they must have decided this was a fine place to sit a spell. Because the only thing reflecting the true season is the calendar hanging on my office wall.

Camassia

May has been unseasonably cold, wet, windy... though it's not all negative. Thanks to my tough as nails spring bulbs.

Oh, I'll never beat Mother Nature at her well-honed game but my mountain gardens are reaching a point where they can give her a good run for her money.

 Gladiator Allium

Bulbs, it seems, are this gardening gal's best friend. I coax, coddle and cajole spring blooming perennials, to no avail. They'll wait to flower when the soil warms up ~ in the mountains that could take until June.

 Blue Star Flowers refuse to photograph well but they're quite cute along a walkway.

Allium Schubertii looks like I stole her from the Starship Enterprise, but I still think she's kind of cool.

Bulbs, on the other hand, don't seem nearly as dependent upon warm weather. By the end of April they start blooming no matter how hard it snows. (Sometimes they bloom underneath the snow!)

Replete Daffodils 

(See below: Advertised as a stunning pink and white combo - don't fall for those catalog pics!)

Replete Daffodils - in the catalog.

If you live in a challenging environment, maybe give bulbs a second look? They can turn the very worst garden into a talk of the town, spring blooming extravaganza.  I'm talking about my place, not yours. :)

* Hot Tip: Plant 20 cheap daffs for every cool bulb you invest in. That way hungry critters won't discover your great grub.