-- William Shakespeare, 1564-1616

Starting Today, Save 10-20% on 37 Great Dahlias, Iris, and Daylilies!

        Maybe it's the cold, maybe it's the economy, maybe it's that everyone's growing vegetables instead, but somehow we still have a lot of great bulbs looking for a good home this spring. That's good news for you, because now you can choose from dozens of spectacular, spring-planted heirlooms at savings of up to 20%, including:
        28 dahlias (and our Endless Bouquets and Dreamy Dahlias samplers),
        5 iris, and
        4 daylilies (and our Classic Daylilies sampler).
        We've marked down their prices online, Rita and Brienne are waiting by the phones, and you're the first to know. Don't miss this golden opportunity to save money, "Save the Bulbs," and add some frugalicious beauty, fragrance, and excitement to your summer garden!
        Feel free to forward this sale to all your garden friends, too!

We'll Never Tell Her You Didn't Pay Full Price (Mother's Day is May 8)

        If your mom (or wife, grandmother, or ANY woman you love) loves flowers, why not treat her to some of our amazing spring-planted bulbs -- and save money, too! Easiest to give are our popular heirloom samplers. Or let her choose exactly what she wants with one of our beautiful gift certificates. For an added treat, tuck your gift into one of our earth-friendly OHG tote-bags, on sale this week only. Need help deciding? Call us at 734-995-1486. We love making moms happy!

Last Week to Order Heirloom Iris!

        We've learned the hard way that when we wait too late to harvest the iris we're growing in our urban micro-farms here in Ann Arbor, their leaves are so long we can barely fit them in a box and they don't re-establish as well once they reach our customers. So this year we're ending iris sales at midnight this Sunday, April 24. Order now or you'll have to wait a whole year for them!

Miracle in the Mud: Trashed Bulbs Triumph

        "I can't believe my eyes," our good customer Kathryn Armenta of Closter, NJ, emailed us a few days ago. "Last year I had a tree destroyed by a storm. When I had it replaced, all of my Old House Gardens bulbs that were planted around it were accidentally thrown in a pile of garden debris. I just discovered that they came up this year taller and stronger than some other bulbs that I had carefully planted last fall! And some of them were only halfway in the soil!! I've told a lot of people about your bulbs but this incident really says it all."

Best-Selling Author Sends Us "Dahlia Love"

        With "Dahlia Love" as her subject line, Tracy DiSabato-Aust, author of the hugely popular Well-Tended Perennial Garden, sent us this short email last summer: "Gorgeous!!! Loving them." In a follow-up she added: "Having so much fun with your dahlias! One of my grandfathers who passed away before I was born grew dahlias -- maybe some of these same varieties? ['Andries Orange', 'Deuil du Roi Albert', and 'Winsome'] Also, so enjoyed your tulips this spring -- 'Peach Blossom' and 'Willem van Oranje' were amazing as cuts. Thanks for enriching our gardens and lives!!!"

Site of the Month:"Wild Lakota" Iris and Other Legacy Bulbs

        "My favorite old homestead flower is a bearded iris that I've nicknamed 'Wild Lakota'. It has a lovely lemony scent." So wrote Dennis Kramb of southwest Ohio in the Pacific Bulb Society's email discussion group. "The roadside places where I've found it are nowhere near any existing home," he continued, "so I can't imagine how many decades they've been able to persist there, untended. I collected a few pieces years ago and now have a big patch of it in my front garden." That sounded like an iris we ought to offer, but when we looked at Dennis's photo of it, we discovered we already do. It's 200-year-old, primrose-yellow 'Flavescens'.
        From roses to daffodils to asparagus, some garden plants are so tough that they can persist in the wild without care for many, many years. Some are so commonly found there that they've made it into wildflower guide books where they're typically marked as "alien" or "garden escape." Although the Pacific Bulb Society focuses on truly wild bulbs, they've included a long list of "Legacy Bulbs" -- "bulbs that outlast their owners" -- in the Wiki section of their excellent website. You'll find 'Flavescens' and 'Crimson King' iris there, along with descriptions and photos of bulbs from almost every genus we sell, from Allium to Zephyranthes. It's fun to explore, it may help you identify bulbs you've found in the wild, and it's convincing testimony to the staying power of heirlooms.

Tuberoses in Williamsburg, from 1736 to 2011

        Wesley Greene, Williamsburg's lead-interpreter for heirloom plants, wrote us a while ago in praise of one of our most popular heirlooms, tuberoses:
        "What is amazing to me is how well known the tuberose is in the 18th century, and how little known in the 21st. It is mentioned frequently in the correspondence between John Custis of Williamsburg and Peter Collinson of London. A 1736 letter from Collinson reads: 'It gives Mee great pleasure that the Tuberoses proved a new Acquisition to your Garden. I [am surprised] you had them not, when they are on both sides of you in south Carolina & Pensilvania. My friend [colonial botanist John Bartram] from Last place writt Mee he had last yeare 149 flowers on one single Flower Stalk which is very Extriordinary, but I have heard the Like from Carolina where they Stand in the Ground and Increase amazeingly.'"
        Wesley went on to say, "I did not realize at first how much more fragrant they were in the evening, because I am home by then. One of our visitors from Mexico told me, so one night when I had to stay late I walked back to the garden about 7:30 and the fragrance was nearly over-powering!" To enjoy that lush fragrance yourself, order a few to plant this spring.

Complaints? Kudos? How Are Our Bulbs Doing for You?

        Good or bad, we want to know what you think about our bulbs and our service. Our goal is to thrill you, and we're always looking for ways to improve. Please let us know how we're doing at charlie@oldhousegardens.com or 734-995-1486.
        If you're loving us, please consider telling the world at GardenWatchdog.com. Although we're the #1-rated source there for ALL spring-blooming bulbs, recent reviews count the most, so we're always in need. We'll walk you through the three simple steps at oldhousegardens.com/rateOHG.asp. Thank you!

When Bulbs Don't Bloom: Top 10 Reasons Why

        Most bulbs are easy to grow, and of course we guarantee everything we sell 100%. But sometimes even the best bulbs don't bloom well. If that ever happens in your garden, it might be because:
        1. Leaves removed too early. (To multiply and recharge for future bloom, bulbs need to photosynthesize. The more the better, so leave foliage alone until it yellows.)
        2. Planted too late. (Bulbs need to establish good roots before the ground freezes. Bulbs stored too long, especially small ones, may dry out so much they struggle or fail.)
        3. Fall was too dry. (Good root growth in the fall is essential for good bloom in the spring, and roots can't grow well in dry soil.)
        4. Too much shade. (Most bulbs need plenty of sun, more the further north you garden. As nearby trees and other plants grow, once sunny areas may become too shady for bulbs.)
        5. Soil too wet. (In heavy, clay, or water-logged soils, many bulbs struggle or rot. Plant in sandy to average soils, improve heavy soils with organic matter, or plant in raised beds. Even average soils can be too damp for some bulbs during their summer dormancy. This is especially true for tulips in the rainier eastern half of the country and in gardens that are regularly watered.)
        6. Over-crowded. (As bulbs multiply they can become so congested that they're starved for moisture and nutrients. Gently dig and divide.)
        7. Too small. (You'll never have this problem with our bulbs, but under-sized bulbs are widely sold. In difficult conditions, even the best bulbs can dwindle until they're too small to bloom.)
        8. Wrong climate. (Both winters and summers can be too cold or too warm, too wet or too dry, depending on the type of bulb. Tulips, for example, need a certain number of winter hours below a certain temperature or they won't bloom, and they rebloom best where summers are dry.)
        9. Under-fed or over-fed. (Bulbs can starve in nutrient-poor soils, but over-rich soils cause problems, too. Too much nitrogen, for example, spurs leaf growth at the expense of flowering. Let a soil test guide you.)
        10. Animals, insects, or diseases. (Burrowing rodents and daffodil flies can eat bulbs, leaving little trace, while other pests attack their flowers and foliage. Learn more here.)
        Whew! The good news is that most bulbs are tough and adaptable. And once you understand what they need, it's even easier to keep them blooming gloriously year after year.

Did You Miss Our Last Newsletter? Read It Online!

        March's articles included Spokane's dahlia garden for vets, longer lasting bouquets, one must-have iris, Gardening for a Lifetime, and more. You can read all of our back-issues -- by date or by topic -- at oldhousegardens.com/NewsletterArchives.asp .

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