Parkway Tulip Tips Shoot Up - February 2024

We've had a VERY mild Winter.  There was a span of about three weeks when it was brutally cold and it seemed like it snowed every.single.day.  But, overall...it was mild.  And that's likely turned a number of gardening variables on their ears.  Emergence.  Bloom time.  Exposure to late Frosts.  And, more, I'm sure.

One of the 'mild Winter' related change that I saw VERY early in January was that the tulip bulbs that I had planted around the parkway tree had ALREADY come up, out of the mulch.  By January 5th.  

J A N U A R Y.

That seems VERY early.  It was BEFORE that three-week spell of 'brutally cold' weather that I mentioned above.  But, tulips being tulips, the foliage didn't mind the weather.  (or...the snow blanket was sufficient insulation.)

I'm *very* aware of mulch volcanoes around trees and worry that every year - when we add another layer of mulch - that I'm burying things and creating problems.  Everyone says that you're supposed to "see" the root flare on trees.  Some of that is attributed to proper planting - setting the tree at the right height when it is initially planted.  But, burying of that root flare is also (sometimes) done with mulch volcanoes.  

That leads me to - every once in a while - take out my small hand rake to pull away some of the mulch away from the tree trunks on the trees in front.  I also opted NOT to mulch the parkway tree last year.  

And that means that the tulip bulbs down there don't have far to travel.   With late February here, they're STARTING to begin their annual return with a pop of color.  For now, it is all green foliage.  See below:

There *were* more tulip bulbs planted here initially.  Some seem to have not come back.  Others...have been dug up by squirrels.  I should think about adding some Fall bulbs around this tree come this Fall.  (Hey...did I just start my [Fall 2024] list?  Sure seems like it.). I also should think about some sort of retaining device.  Boulders, bricks, stone.  Something.  To hold the mulch up a bit as it runs right down to the curb.

The other spot that has tulip bulbs isn't *exactly* the parkway, but it is close.  Located on the other side of the driveway, this is the 'hard to grow' section of the IB2DWs area.  I wrote about this section in September of 2021 when I finally gave up trying to grow grass down here.  Between the heat coming off the sidewalk AND driveway, along with the terrible soil, it was too 'hard to grow'.  

When I removed the turf and created a bed there, I also planted some bulbs.  There's (at least) 20 tulips that will come up in this section - from the driveway to the property line.  Last Fall, I planted a pair of variegated sedums - Sedum kamtschaticum 'Variegatum' and a Hopewell Chicks and Hens in this small bed.  The Sedum were gobbled up by the (dang) rabbits this Winter.  Will they come back?  I'm not sure.  The Chicks and Hens ended up flowering late last Fall.  Was that a 'last gasp'?  Or, just the sign of a healthy perennial?  We'll soon find out - if it comes back...or not.

Below is a look at the tulips that emerged this week:

Along with retention below the parkway tree, something that I should put on my 2024 to-do list is doing a proper edge along the whole IB2DWs bed.  Maybe just a cut edge?  Maybe a hardscape element?