Here in the northeast fall is the time to plant daffodil bulbs. Ideally, you should plant bulbs as soon as you purchase them. I received my daffodil bulbs in the mail and decided to follow the directions and plant them right away. The day was warm and sunny and most of the snow had melted from the weekend storm, a good day to mess in the garden! You want to plant the bulbs when the soil can still be worked, this gives them time to develop roots and establish themselves before winter arrives.
The rule of thumb for planting bulbs outdoors is to set them two and a half times deeper than their diameter. For my daffodil bulbs this meant 5-6″ deep. If you want a naturalizing look to your planting, take a few bulbs in your hand, toss them gently on the ground, then plant them where they have fallen. Dig a hole in the dirt with a trowel for each individual bulb. Special bulb-planting tools are available at garden centers, they make it easy to dig neat, circular holes. Place the bulb in the hole and cover with dirt. In the spring before growth or flowering begins spread a complete fertilizer over your flower beds. The spring rains will carry the fertilizer down into the soil.
Planting bulbs requires patience because you have to wait almost six months before you can enjoy the flowers! Patience is a good virtue to practice, it involves waiting. In our society we want things immediately which is why so many people have debt problems! If we would learn to wait and save for something we want rather than “buy now, pay later” we would be much better off financially! Even stocking your party requires patience. A pantry does not become a well stocked pantry overnight. It takes months of careful planning and preparation, which is a good rule to live our life by!
So I will be patient, the bulbs are planted and I will wait to enjoy their beauty. I will look forward to the daffodil blooms come spring.
A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness;
it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.
Gertrude Jekyll
Nancy on the Home Front 