Tulip Surprise

I spotted this bit of red in my daylily species garden on my way into the driveway last night.  Naturally I had to get out and investigate.  It's tulips!

Aren't they pretty?  I totally forgot that I had planted them there last Spring when I was putting in the daylilies.  My DH had created this new space for the daylilies, so I was just tucking in little odds and ends to balance the plants and I ran across a bag of tulip bulbs.  I had no idea what they would look like when they bloomed - I wasn't even sure how old they were or if they would bloom at all.  But the bulbs seemed healthy enough, so I dug out a little space for them at the base of the column - worst case scenario they would turn into compost - and that was that.

Such a nice red, but you can't really get a good picture of it in the dark, eh?

There you go!  These guys are real beauties.  It's like my own little bouquet of tulips sitting outside and waiting for me to come and see them.  I really debated whether or not to cut them and bring them with me to the office.  But they're tulips - and tulips don't really last a long time as cut flowers.  If I leave them where they are, they'll last a lot longer.  So that's what I did.

I love that about bulbs - planting them and then forgetting that they are there (even if you do write it down on your garden plan).  When Spring comes around even if only one of them pops up it's always an unexpected treat.  What a nice surprise!