The soft breeze carried with it not only the quiet sounds of distant bird songs, but also the smell of fresh, fertile earth. It carried the warmth of Spring, and the moisture of the cold Winter mud. The earth squished under every unsteady step of my heavy rubber boots, while my eyes squinted in the glare of the thin blanket of clouds that only barley kept the Sun from view. It was an incredible day. It was a day I had been waiting for, for quite some time. It was the beginning of… Mid-Winter?

Oh yeah. It was January 21st, and the thermometer read 61°. Days like this don’t come often in Kentucky Winters, but when they do, they get used. I had a bag full of discount bulbs that had just been waiting for an opportunity like this. The Fall had left us quickly this year, and Winter had come on fast. So I wasn’t able to get all of them into the ground as soon as I wanted to. But I knew I’d have a chance later on. At some point, I’d have good enough weather to get them in the ground before Spring got here. You see, most bulbs need a bit of a cold spell to grown right, and today was just the day to get these in the ground. By planting today, I could still take advantage of the Winter to come.

I had quite the spread of flowers to stick in the ground today. Usually, I prefer to plant bulbs one by one. I like to place them carefully amidst the rest of my flowers, like subtle brush strokes on a Bob-Ross-Mountainscape. It was this method, however, that had left me with a backlog of bulbs to plant. So, having only one day to get the rest of these in the ground, I decided instead to plant a full-on Bulb Garden!

All in all, the project took – maybe – about an hour. I grabbed my shovel – the big one, not the trowel – and started digging a trench around my Redbud. I dug the trench about 6 inches or so deep. I’d found through the years that bulbs just need to be buried. They don’t seem to mind if they’re only 4 inches deep, or if they’re 8 inches deep. Some of these bulbs stated on their packaging that they were to be planted at 8 inches deep. Some claimed that 4 inches was ideal. So I decided that 6 inches would be a good middle ground. Also, it was a depth that wasn’t exhausting to get to, especially with the tree roots all around.

So I dug my trench. And then I set my bulbs in a manner that I thought I’d find pleasing in the Spring. I tried grouping my bulb types together more than I had in the past. That way, when they bloom, I’ll have patches of a certain type of flower, rather than just a smattering like I have now. I did, however, mix them together to some degree. I like to have a mixture of flowers rather than just a block of a single variety. But there really is no right way to do this. As long as you’re happy with how your garden looks, then it’s the right style for you. If you don’t end up liking it, well, then just dig them up and move them ’til you do! That’s part of the fun of gardening anyway – trying new things.

Once the bulbs were set to my liking, I just rolled the dirt back into the trench, trying my best not to disturb my bulb arrangement too much. It was heavy work. It was sweaty work. But it was quick work. And now I have a brand new Bulb Garden to look forward to in the Spring. I can say that I am VERY excited to see how this turns out. So, although it may be January, go find something to do out in the yard when you can! It’ll make the Winter much more manageable.

Until next time, Happy Digging!