The Great Bulb Giveaway

Today my DH and I were bulb sitting.  It was the Great Bulb Giveaway - what all of that money we raised this past summer with the garden tours goes for.  We gave away chionodoxa - glory of the snow.  Little blue flowers that pop up in Spring with the forsythia, making our front yard look like a salute to the University of Michigan Wolverines.

 We had 2 type of daffodils.  The people voted and everyone wanted yellow this year - so I picked these teeny little Baby Moon Narcissi.  So cute!

And then the taller Quail Narcissi.  Very traditional looking, I think.

I had the most fun picking out the tulips, though.  These are Menton tulips.   The catalog said they are the very last tulips to bloom, so even if winter lasts forever (and the farmers are saying that it's going to), the tulips will still bloom.  I love the old rose color on the outside and the apricot inside.

Then, just to mix it up a bit, Menton Exotics.  More apricot, but still blending nicely with the old rose ones.  They should look great together.

Finally, for the War Memorial, I found these lovely Red Impression tulips.  They look like they're a real pure red.  Fitting for the memorial and their red, white and blue theme.

All of the bulbs (and the pictures here) were from Van Engelen Wholesale Dutch Flower Bulbs.  The Garden Club always buys from them - great prices, great product.

I have to say it was too much fun to spend a few thousand dollars on flower bulbs - I love shopping!  But it was even more fun to see all of the smiles on people's faces when they came to get some free bulbs to plant in their gardens.  I was really pleasantly surprised that so many folks came and got bulbs to plant on the roads, by churches, at school bus stops and other public places.  It was exactly what we had hoped would happen.

It's nice when things work out like that.  Especially when it involves flowers.