tulips! and daffies!

I never claimed to be a gardener. I never claimed to be able to tell the difference between a hyacinth and a snapdragon. Or to know that snowdrops are flowers, not drops of snow.

But last Fall I decided to plant tulip and daffodil bulbs in front of the house. How hard could it be, right? Just decide where to put them, dig a hole, drop the bulb in, and voila! In the spring witness their beauty.

There are a lot of lessons on gardening that I missed. Like all of them. I had to ask Becky, as she was frying green tomatoes in her farmhouse kitchen, where she got the green tomatoes. And last week, A. told me that there's a right way to plant flower bulbs.

Oh, come on, I said. You just plop them in the ground.

No, she said. You have to place them in tear-drop-side up. Pointy side up.

So now I've probably got tulips growing straight down into hell. And daffies too. Dang.

Julie Wonka made me feel better though as she waved her hand in the air dismissively and said, "It's nature. It'll work itself out."

I'm happy to report, though, that many daffies made it and at least eight tulips. So there, nature. I showed you.