Kicking off the Festive Weekend with Some Southwest Gardening! It's Tulip Time!

I remember my parents battening down the hatches this time of year in preparation for the long winter ahead.  So the irony never escapes me when we start planning our winter gardens in Arizona.  We just finished putting in our winter lawn and this weekend we planted our winter flowers.  If you live in the Southwest, now is the time to plant all those pretty flowers and it's also the time to plant bulbs.  The flowers we will enjoy all winter long, but the bulbs will hide beneath the dirt until Easter time when they will make their glorious debut!



We start by digging the sun cooked earth out of our flower gardens. 


Followed by the kids and I taking a trip to the plant nursery for some fresh dirt and pansies (making a quick stop at Sonic for some slushies on our drive home).   I always buy the kids a bag of live ladybugs when we're planting (our bag this year contained 2000 ladybugs!).  It gives the kids something to do while Mike and I work and the ladybugs are a wonderful natural pesticide. 








The bulb are planted 5" below the surface, so they will go in first.  Just look at these Dutch pretties!  I've selected a bright rainbow mix for this year.


Each Garden will get 33 bulbs so I separate the bags into their locations.


Next we removed the bulbs from their bags and space them around the garden.
The Lemonista's helpers makes holes with a bulb planting tool and tucks the bulbs safely inside--point side up.

A fresh blanket of dirt is layered over top to achieve the needed 5" depth.


Finally, the lovely pansies are planted.

(My Mother says there's nothin' sexier than a man doing the dishes...but a man planting my garden comes pretty close! *Grin*)

A heavy dose of water later and the front garden is finished!  Now we enjoy our pansies and wait 'till spring to see our gorgeous tulips!


This afternoon we will carve pumpkins and gear up for a neighborhood gathering...and of course, tricker-treating!  I'll leave you with a few festive photos from around our house to get you in the mood.










Have a safe, happy, Halloween!
The Lemonista and Staff ;-)