Lilies are strikingly gorgeous, roses and lilacs smell divine, and I love the sight of a carpet of bluebells. However, when I see the tulips in bloom, something about them just screams, “Spring is REALLY here!” I’m starting to see tulips blooming all around me now, and it makes me very happy.
I was lucky enough to go to a tulip festival this year and something about the sight of fields with 40,000+ tulips just made me feel happy. If you have the opportunity to go to something like this, take it. It’s a beautiful sight, and a great excuse for an early season picnic! I don’t think I’ve ever come across tulips with a pronounced fragrance, but their colors and the shape of the flowers just brighten things up. For this reason, I’m willing to do battle with the squirrels every year and plant bulbs throughout my yard. Considering I live in the woods, this is indeed a battle royale.
I’ve sprayed bulbs with squirrel repellent, and the local rodents seems to appreciate the piquant qualities of the sauce I add to their delicacy. I tried buying bulb cages and using those. Unfortunately, Houdini seems to be the lead squirrel in my woods and he can extract anything from those cages. I actually do have an indoor-outdoor cat, but I’ve noticed that she has a decidedly live and let live attitude toward other wildlife. She likes to lounge in the sun watching squirrels pick through her leftover kibble.
So, I only end up with a few tulips here and there, but I can dream of beautiful tulip gardens and admire them elsewhere. And if you know of ways to keep the squirrels out of the tulip bulbs, please do let me know!
– Lynn Spencer
I enjoy spending as much time as I can between the covers of a book, traveling through time and around the world. When I'm not having adventures with fictional characters, I'm an attorney in Virginia and I love just hanging out with my husband, little man, and the cat who rules our house.
I saw my first tulips late last week. Even though it’s turned chilly again, the tulips give me hope that spring is truly coming.
I switched to daffodils. Squirrels hate them.
Ha ha. Too funny. I didn’t know squirrels liked flowers, too. I’d only known what a scourge they were for bird lovers trying to keep them out of bird houses. Good luck!
@Marcella – thanks!
I’ll just try that again (blush)
http://www.garden-supplies-advisor.com/squirrels-eats-my-tulip-bulbs.html
I LOVE tulips – and that has nothing to do with being Dutch! They always make me feel happy. I have them in my garden, in pots, in vases, in all shapes and colors.
I had a problem with mice this winter. It was so cold that there was serious food shortage for them and people were warned they could enter houses. I soon learned from experience how to protect my food – we have an old house that still needs lots of work, so hiding places in abundance for them. One night we were away and during our absence they had eaten all the flowers, leaves and most of the stems of my bouquet on the sitting room table.
Sorry, can’t help with Houdini squirrels…
Maybe you’ll find something here: (We have an old house that still needs lots of work, so hiding places in abundance for them.)