Southern Bulb Company

Spring Orders are Closing Today

2008-05-12T06:27:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day for spring orders! Some of the crinums we have for sale will not be for sale again for a long time as we move to propagate them to larger numbers.

Ann Swan has finished her latest piece, and many are pronouncing it their immediate favorite. The drawing is a fabulous rendition of the South's famous spider lily, Lycoris radiata. Thank you Ann, for helping us preserve our gardening history through your fine pieces of art.

Texas State Master Gardener Conference

2008-05-06T12:59:00.000-07:00

Last week was a busy week, and it started with the Friday before with a talk at the Texas State Master Gardener Conference in Conroe, Texas. The master gardeners have a fabulous display garden that the entire group pitches in to help with.They also had some Byzantine gladiolus blooming, but it looks like they were planted late or squashed by something because they were a little stunted. They will overcome that by next year.

This week is another week on the farm. Ann Swan's spider lily prints have made it here and I will begin to ship those out to the customers who have pre-ordered them. The renovations to the lake are completed and it is beginning to fill up with water!

Camera in Hand for Byzantine Gladiolus Weekend!

2008-04-21T06:01:00.000-07:00

Well, a special thanks to my new ebay friend "1wgw1" who sold me an excellent camera and shipped it immediately in nice packaging. It arrived just in time for our Byzantine Gladiolus Weekend. SOOOO, pictures and blogging is back!John and Erin came were absolutely wonderful as we prepared for the four hour open house.The Byzantines were just opening up, even though they are blooming about a week later than normal for us. We were also selling the last of our crinums that we had for sale before we put them in the ground later this week or early next.Brad was here sporting his Southern Bulb shirt and keeping things going in all the areas that we needed help.Some of the tour later joined us for a trip to the cabin.

Overall it was a great weekend. I drove to Dallas afterwards for another event that evening. I slept late the next day, Sunday. I took the day off and am now back at the farm. There are MANY e-mails stacked up, and I will be working through those today and the rest of the week, and I am sorry if you have not heard back from me yet. Hope everyone has a great week.

Camera

2008-04-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

It looks like my camera is gone, gone, gone, and what a mental blow it does to my blogging desires. I still have a few pictures left over of some recent bloomers, and I will share those with you. In the meantime, I will be in the market for another Canon EOS 20D...I might need to buy a used one if anyone has any leads, my e-mail is chris@southernbulbs.com I will also let US Airways know about the incident.A couple weeks ago it was a our species tulips that ruled the day. Their colors were amazing, and they have now come back for us three years in a row, blooming wonderfully and propagating even better.The hoop petticoats also made an appearance and are always a delicate delight.

Lost Camera

2008-03-24T07:19:00.000-07:00

I have been taking a lot of pictures, but I am afraid I left my very nice camera on my US Airways flight in Phoenix and they are yet to find it. It was a Saturday flight and they sent the plane back to the hanger after we unloaded. My camera was up in the overhead storage. They assured me they would go look for it and call me back......

I am back in Texas now and spring came out overnight. Just two weeks ago we had snow. Last week it warmed up and we began shipping all of our orders out. The rest are shipping out this week.

We now have about a month to enjoy spring and then no doubt summer will be here. At the farm, an Ipheion 'Alberto Castillo' is blooming nicely. It was a gift from my host in Alexandria, VA when I spoke to the Potomac Chapter of the Rock Garden Society.

On the Hunt

2008-03-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

The tulips are really coming into bloom. Here they are accented by the Narcissus tazetta 'Grand Primo' bulbs in a shot I took yesterday.Monroe continues to impress me. They wrote a nice piece about my speech there a couple day ago titled "On the Hunt."

While having dinner in Monroe, I visited with one lovely lady who was diagnosed with West Nile about 10 years ago. She had to relearn everything, including how to speak. When her grandmother was a child, the local Episcopal church burned down. Her grandmother rode her bike by the church and the men who were repairing the church asked the then young girl if she would like some of the irises that had survived the fire. She said yes and carried them home on her bike, and the irises have been in the family ever since.The lightning lit up the sky last night in a fabulous storm that kept me up for awhile. Then came the rain, which I actually did not want as it will make for a muddy harvest today! We are almost done harvesting the bulbs and will begin shipping orders out on Monday!

More on Monroe

2008-03-13T06:20:00.000-07:00

Monroe was a wonderful town and welcomed me with open arms! I even had a daffodil cake which I just could not get over. It tasted delicious, but we did pull the daffodils out. Thank you Mrs. A for making it and giving me a wonderful tour. Your potted plant combinations were fun and your bulb hunting adventures along the bayou were fantastic. This site of Ipheion on the bayou was unbelievable.

Working in the fields today, harvesting some bulbs and cleaning up other rows. The birds are already active chirping away and we have more frogs out here then ever. They are LOUD at night right now. It looks like it is going to be another beautiful day!

Monroe

2008-03-12T09:39:00.001-07:00

Made it back from Monroe at 2am. Spent the day speaking and bulb hunting! More to come.

Cold Weather and Dallas Arboretum

2008-03-10T06:31:00.001-07:00

I have made it to Monroe to speak to the Monroe Garden Club today. That makes my visits to Monroe twice in two weeks!

This morning I managed to make the pictures work for yesterday's blog.

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Last week was a busy week down and the cabin away from internet, so I apologize to all of the blog readers. We had snow and rain and it made for some wet times.

By Friday I had made it to the Dallas Arboretum with my guests. It was the day before they opened for "Dallas Blooms," an event that draws large crowds from around the world every year. Jimmy Turner, director of plant research and Mr. Creative himself gave us a wonderful tour. Being the day before the Dallas Blooms opening, I don't know how he kept his nerve and dedicated the time to us that he did.

At another home in Dallas, the little grape hyacinths were coming into full bloom as they are around the South.

Englishmen, Bulbs, and Louisiana

2008-03-03T06:19:00.000-08:00

I had a guest every day last week, with about one hour in between each one. The week ended with a trip to Louisiana. Much of the time I did not have internet access, so here is a quick recap.

At the cabin I had a group of Englishmen. They were a delightful crowd and we had a wonderful time. They enjoyed some time fishing by the cabin. Martin sure knows how to cook an English breakfast.

After the crew departed for the rest of their trip across Texas, I had time for a short little bulb hunt. This site with an old barn was home to some campernelles, but down the road was an open pasture that was full of campernelles (Narcissus x odorus) and Texas star jonquils (Narcissus x intermedius).

The next morning I left for a trip to Shreveport, Louisiana where I stopped for a talk at Garrisons Greenwood Nursery. Mark, one of the owners, was a delight to work with and is doing wonderful things drawing in speakers and large crowds to their nursery just west of town and off of Interstate 20. The crowd was engaging and nice, but I threatened that if any of them lost interest I would use one of the nursery’s giant elephant hears to keep them awake. They had lots of questions at the end, which I always enjoy.

Continuing down Interstate 20, I saw numerous bulbs scattered across the median between the roads. These were more Texas stars. Traveling through Monroe was a delight and it is to be noted that the Penthouse belonging to the old Louisiana State Representative Shady Wall is under renovation.

After Monroe, I went South to a little town of Mangham.

Dr. Bill Welch has a home. The flower bulbs, forsythia, saucer magnolias (Magnolia x soulangiana), and more were making a spectacular display.

Narcissus trevithian, Narcissus tazetta ‘Grand Primo’, blue Roman hyacinths, and pink hyacinths made a nice bulb border. Here is the same border from the reverse angle.

Snowflake bulbs (Leucojum aestivum) are sometimes not fully appreciated until seen in mature clumps. Here they can be seen making a nice border.

The same holds true for the ‘Grand Primo.’ Here a mature clump adds an extreme splash of color. Albeit white, it still makes an impressive impact.

The forsythia was in complete bloom.

The Roman hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis) and snowflakes went well together.

Last Freeze?

2008-02-27T07:03:00.000-08:00

Last week I brought crinums up from Houston. They were happy growing down there, but I'm afraid this freeze that we had last night will knock their foliage back down. We always seem to have a freeze right when we think the cold weather might be over.

I drove by this site last week. This tree and these jonquils are no longer there. Thank you to the contractor who allowed us to dig.Sun is out now and the day should warm up nicely! That is good because there is a lot of work to do in the fields.

Morning Light at the Farm

2008-02-25T07:03:00.000-08:00

I made it back to the farm late Saturday night. Sunday was a restful day, and today I have been answering customer e-mails. This morning I stepped outside to get a few shots of the farm in the early morning light. The birds are active this morning, making their presence known through their song and color. I already have the doors open for what is to be a beautiful day.

The light shone through this jonquil in an attractive way.

The campernelles are beginning to make a nice showing.
The Narcissus 'Golden Dawn' flowers are making a good showing, but these are blooming earlier than than normal.Here are some of my friends who accompanied on my walk of the farm this morning.

Yes, it is going to be a great day!

Bulbs in Houston

2008-02-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

I have successfully made it to Houston, with the trailer and all. In case any body was wondering, the toll for a truck and trailer on Beltway 8 is $3, and if you stay at a hotel in the Galleria area for a wedding, it's best to find a place to park the trailer because the valet guys won't touch it.

Along the way down, there were many bulbs blooming in run down home sites. One of my favorite sites of bulbs, is this patch of jonquils that sits below a billboard in Buffalo, Texas. The jonquils weren't quite in full bloom yet. Since the jonquils set so many seeds, there are populations of different types of species floating around the South, and this grouping always blooms a little later than others.

In College Station, one avid gardener was employing a nice technique to enjoy Narcissus tazetta 'Grand Primo' blooms. After the blooms are over, most of the foliage stays hidden behind the Ilex vomitoria 'nana' hedge. Later in the spring, the lantana that has been trimmed down for the winter will grow up and cover the yellowing foliage.Along the trip down here, I passed one of my favorite trees and one of only three trees that I know of in the state that is host to a hanging moss variety of Usneoides. Spanish moss is Tillandsia usneoides, a common variety in coastal areas, but this true Usneoides seems to do well much farther north.Once in Houston, I visited with Heidi Sheesley of Treesearch Farms. She grows Crinum asiaticum bulbs at the farm, and she took my picture next to the specimens she has growing by her lake. This species of Crinum really becomes a small tree. Heidi has some beautiful flowering magnolias in bloom at the moment and is one of the best sources of knowledge and product in the Houston area. She also had some beautiful snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum) blooming at her place.After a long day of battling the roads in Houston, I finally made it to the hotel. From my room, I took a picture of the traffic I was glad to not be in.

To Houston!

2008-02-22T05:03:00.000-08:00

I am almost in Houston and am collecting pictures as I go along! Another wedding tonight and I will try to post pictures before then.

ATTENTION: We just released our spring line and are excited to offer so many WONDERFUL crinum varieties for the first time ever. Be sure to check out the line at http://www.southernbulbs.com/spring-bulbs/

Updates and Information

2008-02-20T12:07:00.000-08:00

Every day there is another story from the road, another bulb blooming, and another question I need to ask of somebody. Most of my time with questions revolves around horticulture and agriculture, and so I spend hours googling county extension offices, finding the local reps, and calling their offices. Extension agent information is free (or already paid for by my taxes) and I have long considered myself "in the know" when it comes to a good source of free, friendly university information from experts, PhD's, etc. Now the cat is out of the bag though. They have gone online with a brand new website eXtension.org. It's the electronic age, and now everybody will have access to this undiscovered resource that will be announced later this week!

Leaving for College Station tomorrow, and then down to Houston. Bulb hunting along the way. Many people have heard my talks, but they do not have the opportunity to enjoy some of the fun videos from the farm and from the road. Here are a couple videos. Enjoy!

Bulb Hunting Weather

2008-02-19T12:02:00.000-08:00

It is warming up now and everything is beginning to bloom. In the field, our campernelles are really taking off. I am not used to their blooms burying themselves in the foliage like this and expect the blooms to grow taller. One of our Narcissus 'Golden Dawn' rows is blooming earlier than the other two. It was also planted later, and I am not sure if it feels like it is being forced up due to some unknown physiological treatment.Bulb Hunting adventures are to take me down through Central Texas to Houston this week! Looking forward to a nice drive. I'm hoping the rain will pass here after tomorrow and leave the world looking fresh. I came upon this interesting car the other day.

Dallas Home and Garden

2008-02-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Paige Phelps for such a wonderful article in D Home and Garden.

Fire

2008-02-15T16:22:00.000-08:00

Last week a garden club was to come out, and something happened that has delayed me all week. I was cleaning up for them to do a work shop with pots and rain lilies in the cold frame. After I had piled some old wood and items to burn and clean up, I lit the pile on fire. That's when things went wrong.

Navasota Blooms

2008-02-11T10:06:00.000-08:00

I remember in college I would sometimes go through a little town south of college station called Navasota. That is, it seemed little, but I have traveled to many different places and always run in to somebody from that sleepy town or know someone that lives there. I passed through there with Brad once. We were in uniform and taking our dates to the ball that night to dinner in Brenham before returning to the campus for the festivities. It was during the Festival of Flags, and there was food, music, and dancing. That was almost five years ago and here Brad and I are still working together.

In Navasota are many old plantings of trees, roses, and of course…bulbs. I’m always sure to see a Byzantine gladiolus, or a Narcissus tazetta italicus. A gardening friends sent me this photo of the hardy amaryllis (Johnson’s amaryllis – Hippeastrom x johnsonii). It blooms in April, but on this friends journey last week, he noticed the planting of snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum) blooming in the same spot. It was the perfect combination, as the amaryllis foliage is not largely apparent in the winter (in most places).Sometimes, bulb combination plantings do not have to be combined with other perennials and annuals, but can be combined with each other!

If though, you might unconscionably want to combine your bulbs with something besides a another bulb, consider this perennial that was also blooming in Navasato right now. It is the lemon scented Lonicera fragrantissima (also called winter honeysuckle or sometimes called standing honeysuckle). I do not know the date of introduction in to Texas, but is documented to have been introduced into Europe from China in 1845 by Robert Fortune.

I will conclude by saying that one can not talk about antique heirloom plants in Navasota without mentioning one of the original rose rustlers, Pam Puryear. She is no longer with us, but her memory lives on through her contributions to the horticulture world.

Au Vieux Paris Antiques

2008-02-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

When I tell people that I was born in Louisiana, they usually look at me inquisitively and respond “Oh really?” They either assume I was born in Texas or California, the two states where I have spent most of my life. The truth is I was born in Lafayette, Louisiana. We moved when I was young, and I never really knew much about the town. Last fall I was invited to speak at the Louisiana State Master Gardener Conference in Lafayette. That is when I saw how advanced Lafayette was becoming, with one of the nations largest supercomputers (LITE) and a plan to lay fiber optic lines to all parts of town (I know of few other towns doing this such as Shafter, CA). They were wonderful discoveries in my old home, but the best discovery of all, was made in the little town next door by the name of Breaux Bridge (pronounced “brō-bridge”), LA. Here is the home of Robert Smith, nationally famous antique collector and owner of Au Vieux Paris Antiques (“ah vō pa-ree antiques”).

The event was special in so many ways, as it turned into a personal walk around the grounds and amongst the structures. It became evident that his collection of 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th century of French furniture, decorative and fine arts was not to be matched by many (if any) in the South. In April of 2001 Architectural Digest listed him as one amongst the top one hundred and nine shops and dealers around the world with pieces of quality and excellence. Normally he hosts decorators, dealers, private collectors and museum curators so to spend a couple hours walking and talking about all the pieces in a general way was one of the best experiences of the great fall 2007 bulb speaking circuit.

Scattered in a decorative way around the garden were originals of the famed vases d’Anduze-they also go under vase Anduse. Such vases come from the Anduze region in France and were first created in the 1500’s. Their use continued to increase over the following centuries. One large spike in popularity occurred when the orange tree became popular, and needing to bring them in during the winter, they would plant them in these vases to be easily transported. There are companies attempting to remanufacture them, but I assure you it is hard to compare to Mr. Smith’s originals.

DOORS! Wonderful doors. They lead to so many wonderful places, hiding secrets and opening secrets. Just seeing them all together fills my mind with an explosion of creativity. One day, I think I might build a structure completely around a door. At Au Vieux Paris, many of the doors can be found with original keys! This is even more fascinating, as those keys were carried by people living out their days hundreds of years ago.

From the door collection, we moved to a tour of the garden. It is spectacular and has lived a life of high maintenance and low maintenance. Lately it has transitioned into a low maintenance beauty! The result is the showcasing of the sustainable plants in the most artistic and natural manner. That would include air plants such as Tillandsia usneoides (Spanish Moss) and heirloom bulbs such as Blue Roman Hyacinths. Mr. Smith shared some of the hyacinths with me. His site is a good example of the amazing range of Roman hyacinths, as his location is below Interstate 10!

His personal residence at a nearby lake is apparently spectacular, but unfortunately that will have to be reserved for a future encounter. Bulbs adorn not only the landscape, but also the inside where some beautiful modern selections are forced. Some of the bulbs are forced in his antique French forcing vases. Crinums are not excluded, and the cut flowers of a Crinum asiaticum relative are nicely displayed from the home image.

Thank Robert Smith for a wonderful event and we hope you are enjoying your time in France.

Campernelles at Crow Park on the Trinity River Dallas

2008-01-30T06:11:00.000-08:00

Last March, we teamed up with the Trinity Trust in a cooperative effort to rescue bulbs from an abandoned lot in Fort Worth slated for a new development project. The president of the Forth Worth Organic Club first told me about the lot filled with campernelles off of Texas State Road 121. She organized her members, and with the help of the Dallas County Master Gardeners, and numerous staff from our corporate sponsor of the event Calloway’s nursery, and the staff of the Trinity Trust, we dug the bulbs and relocated them in Crow Park between the levees of the Trinity River.

A couple weeks ago, we went back to Crow Park to check on the bulbs. The park was in high spirits with a weekly soccer competition taking place. We went to the spot where we had planted the bulbs. After 3 weeks of being under 20 feet of water in the flood plains of the Trinity this summer, the bulbs survived and are coming up! There might not be any blooms this year, but their survival and growth this winter is not only a testimony to the bulbs, but a confirmation of a successful project with the Trinity Trust.

Thank you Calloway’s for providing water for all of us thirsty diggers!

Bulls and Bulbs

2008-01-29T08:11:00.001-08:00

She said we could dig bulbs. She didn't tell us she had twelve bulls also.

This picture was actually taken just north of the farm, on an old home site.

Petals From the Past

2008-01-26T19:52:00.001-08:00

This winter I had the opportunity of visiting our good friends at "Petals from the Past," Jason and Shelley Powell. Jason had to rush off to Birmingham to deliver poinsettias, so Shelley and the dog showed me around.

As my companion and I drove to Petals from Birmingham, we were passed by a large cow doing 80 down Interstate 65.
Perhaps the highlight of the trip were the Asian persimmons. Their selections are non-astringent and tasted wonderful even that late in the season.
Shelley has done one of the best displays I have seen of our bulbs, pulling out an old wooden ladder and hooking them on the rungs.

Dallas Area Historical Rose Society

2008-01-24T21:32:00.000-08:00

Tuesday I awoke early in the morning so I could have breakfast with my good friend Jacob in Dallas. I drove back to the farm, where I looked at my calendar and realized I had a speech in Dallas that evening with the Dallas Historical Rose Society (DAHRS). I called Mr. Graves to confirm that they still planned on me coming. He said yes, and I headed to the train station to catch the 9:50 train to Dallas (my legs couldn’t take the drive again).

DAHRS was established in 1982 and to this day continues to work towards expanding the knowledge of old garden roses. They have a wonderful monthly publication called “The Yellow Rose,” and if you come to the meetings you might receive freshly shelled pecans like I did! Their website is www.antiqueroses.org.

In Dallas that evening, I gave my presentation. There were some familiar faces, previous customers, and well wishers. I enjoyed seeing them all! I also met Dean Oswald, who in conjunction with other members such as Mr. Graves has planned the Chambersville Heritage Rose Garden just north of McKinney. The garden is on the same grounds as Mr. Oswald’s tree farm, Chambersville Tree Farms (www.chambersvilletreefarms.com).

The roses are planted with far enough spacing to completely grow to their natural size and only minimal trimming is required. I was invited with a friend to see the garden the next morning, so at 6AM we left Dallas and headed north!

Dean gave us a fabulous tour of the facilities, but of course the real draw for me was bulbs that marked the original homesite. Dean and I went bulb hunting around the old gardens, and found wonderful stashes of spider lilies (Lycoris radiata), cemetery white iris (Iris albicans), oxblood lilies (Rhodophiala bifida), grape hyacinths (Muscari neglectum), and others. Nothing of the home could be seen any more, and while we were there nothing was blooming. However, in the grey winter landscape, the green foliage that had persisted for well over fifty years on this rocky site had a beauty all of its own.

Spider lily (Lycoris radiata)

Oxblood lily (Rhodophiala bifida)

Cemetery white iris (Iris albicans)

Grape hyacinths (Muscari neglectum)

Mrs. Graves, wife of Mr. Graves, told me the story of how as a girl her sisters and she would go to the seamstress that lived on that site. There they would be fitted for their ballet outfits. While they were waiting for their turn, they would play in the creek and catch crawdads. Then it was back to McKinney where they lived.

On our way out of town, we could not help but stop and peak over the fence at the Chambersville Cemetery, where the former residents of the home were probably buried.

Blooming in the Field

2008-01-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

We have some white Roman hyacinths blooming in the field. Some of our first came from the little town of Cameron, Texas. I remember the lady, Mrs. Gonzales, who let us have some. Her father served in World War I. She had some wonderful stories and let us harvest some and replant a row along her sidewalk. A couple years later she had passed away. Somebody else moved into her home and now somebody else lives in it.

The fragrance of white hyacinths is beyond description, and it will lift up any person on a gray winter day such as this one. Smells bring back memories, and it reminds me of my earliest days of bulb hunting. The whites have proven for us to be the most vigorous of the Roman hyacinths, out pacing the pinks and the blues.