Earth Month

Red peony tulips were sent as a free gift from Breck's with a fall order of bulbs. They started growing this spring, where I had forgotten what they were. As they started blooming, I then realized they were a free gift - something I would never have ordered. But I actually ended up liking them until it rained. They form a cup and hold lots of water in all those petals, and then tend to tip over.

The orange tulips were bought at a local hardware store late in the season about three years ago after everything else had been picked over. I since lost their variety name. They are mid-season and generally re-bloom each year and multiply.

Update: The orange tulips are 'Beauty of Apeldoorn.'


These are posted as part of a blog meme for Earth Month from FilterForGood Blog Meme Contest. The five actions I will pursue this summer to help out Mother Earth:

1. Install a rain barrel at the rear yard. This will catch rain water from the roof downspout, and save it for use on the vegetable garden during hot summer months.
2. Compost all kitchen vegetable scraps to cut down on household trash. Last year I got lazy and threw out more materials than I would want to.
3. Turn off the modem and router when I leave the house during the day to save electricity. Currently they are left on all the time.
4. Combine auto trips around town when running errands to reduce gas consumption, especially at weekends. This will take some planning at the beginning of each day.
5. Install that extra blanket of insulation to cut down on heating and cooling loads in the house. All winter long, I have been meaning to add another layer to the existing 6-inches (15 cm) in the attic.

For The Record:   • Full sun   • Moderate moisture   • Light bone meal fertilzer in the fall Garden Calendar:   • Blooming: Red peony tulips, poet daffodils, Beauty of Apeldoorn tulips, dogwood, grape hyacinth   • Seedlings progress:      Tomatoes germination, 7 days      Amaranthus germination, 4 days      Lagurus germination, 5 days      Cleome germinated, 11 days      Snapdragons germinated, 9 days