Garden Reports and Rejoicing – May 14
I ordered Camassia from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs four years ago and planted it above in front of the veggie garden. I chose this location because, since it’s at the bottom of a slope, the location tends to be damp. Camassia is one of the few bulbs that does well in wet locations, so I figured that it was a natural.
These plants are growing in Annual Alley, the place for me to play with different combinations of annual plants each summer. Camassia is perfect because after it flowers in May, the plants very quickly disappear, foliage and all. By the time the annuals start to grow, the Camassia is sleeping again.
These plants are at their peak for about two weeks, and what a glorious fourteen days it is! Why would you want to purchase bulbs in the fall, plant them, and only have flowers for two weeks? Because in those two weeks you really see your garden.
There isn’t time to take these plants for granted or become accustomed to their presence. They are a holiday, shooting star, and the night of Obama’s election: an occasion to be savored because they are positive, happening quickly, and you are there to experience what can’t be repeated.
You don’t plant Camassia in spite of their short period of bloom…you plant this bulb because they are fleeting.
Two foot spires of beautiful blue flowers. Yum.
