Fix, Plant, Build, or Grow It Sunday: Bulbs, Bulbs, Bulbs! Osmocote Plant Food and Wildflower Seeds

My purple thumb is turning green. I went out the other day to play in the garden for no more than two hours. Four hours later, I went back into the house.

The front yard is filled with early spring, spring, and summer bulbs that I’ve planted. I have tulips, daffodils, dahlias, gladioluses, and something I planted last year that is popping up everywhere but I can’t remember what it is!

For the past two years, I have gotten tulip leaves, but no tulips. Last year, I tried watering them (I know, I know) and MiracleGro. Nothing. This year, as soon as I saw tiny buds, I sprinkled Osmocote Plant Food over them. Most of them bloomed! I had used Osmocote last year in my first vegetable garden and got such a wonderful bumper crop of veggies. You only need to sprinkle every 4 months. Most of the stuff I plant only lasts 3 to 4 months (veggies, perennials, etc.) anyway so I don’t have to worry about forgetting the plant food or sometimes water (again, I know!).

Even though my tulips have bloomed and gone, there are many many more flowers to bloom shortly! I am so excited. It baffles me that bulb planters don’t come with instructions. My bulb planter has been in my possession for years and I never used it. I also didn’t plant bulbs, but that is beside the point! About a year or so ago, I tried to use it. It didn’t make sense to me. I pushed it down into the dirt, pulled it back up and the dirt always stayed put. Thanks to YouTube, I discovered that the handle has a spring mechanism that you are supposed to push together BEFORE placing the bulb planter into the dirt. Releasing the mechanism in the handle allows for the planter to grasp the dirt as you pull it out. Yeah . . . Sometimes, I am just brilliant! Once I figured out how to use it, I had more than 30 bulbs planted in under 10 minutes. Things are starting to come up already. I really can’t wait for the beautiful array of flowers.

See the video below on How to Use a Bulb Planter:

I just returned from Home Depot with wildflower seeds. I purchased Red California Poppies, Zinnias, and some just because they’re purple. I am going to sprinkle the seeds in the same area where my tulips were and gladioluses are starting to pop up. Hopefully, at this rate, I can have flowers all summer long!