More Tulip Tales & More

In the comments yesterday, it was mentioned by Shirley that planted tulips become less hardy each year. Again, my information from living in the Netherlands agrees with this. The Dutch actually dig the bulbs up after the foliage has died and then they are stored to be planted in the Fall again. The Dutch like the tulips best when they are full blown and to make them last longer, they put a pinhole in the stalk next to the flower head. There are even special tulip vases in Holland. Traditional vases have many openings for one tulip stalk each. The modern vases are slanted so that all the blooms lean lazily to one side. Both are very attractive.

Also in the comments, Rachel mentioned visiting Keukenhof Gardens in Holland. The gardens have been open since the late 40s but only for about 6 weeks in the Spring. It is planted each year by various landscapers who vie for the privilege. About a million people visit annually to see the fabulous natural displays (see above) of spring blooms. One can spend an entire day there just strolling the grounds.

in the comments Joy wondered if the deer were eating her tulips. After we returned to live in Connecticut after our stay in Holland, we planted thousands of tulips only to have them eaten by the deer just as they bloomed. Rather than offer up another deer buffet, we opted to plant daffodils and narcissus. King Alfred is the common daffodil, but there are hundreds of other types. I really got into them while in Connecticut. My favorite was an apricot colored frilly flower. I have never seen them again.

I think my webgirl will have our new products online tonight. They include new Gaffer Tape, new Shrine Kit that fits an ATc or whatever else you want, new 3 compartment cubbyhole kit and new stand-up numbers.

We got dirty over here. We bought 7 huge flats of impatiens, several peonies, lupines, lilies, dahlias and enough flowers to fill two railing planters, one hanging plant and some big pots. We started planting on Sunday, but the allergies got the best of me, so John has had to finish. Even in their infancy, the beds look wonderful. When they fill in, I will bore you with photos.

Okay. Question of the day: Have you tried to be more "green" and how? I will start you out with my list of our greenness or lack of greenness.
1. We have replaced many light bulbs with the spiral type and have use reduced wattage in the ones we can't replace.
2. I take canvas bags to the market with me. If I have overflow or I forget them, we recycle the bags back at the store's recycle bin.
3. We recycle tins, bottles and plastic. Our town has a weekly pick-up.
4. We opt for no bag if given a choice.
5. We try very hard to use up the last of every thing to reduce throwing out spoiled food.
6. I try not to buy Made in China or other foreign product. It is difficult and sometimes disappointing. A few weeks ago, I needed to buy some new bath towels for the guest bathroom. I went to the local bedding store and bought the Made in the USA rather than the made in China. I brought them home and washed them. The two identical bath towels I bought turned out to be vastly different in size and the edges, after washing, had come unraveled. I am frustrated.

Comments

[TACE]

I think some where in the dusty corners of my brain I might have known about digging up the bulbs to be replanted next year. I think I remember my Mother doing something like that, I definitely remember baskets of dirty bulbs that looked like freaky onions or something.
We do what we can to be green around here, we use compostable garbage bags for our trash, reusable cloth bags at the store, I even reuse produce bags when I can, we use fluorescent bulbs every where in the house now, we use an earth friendly dish soap, recycle everything that's recyclable for our area and have small mournful funerals for the stuff that's not every Thursday when the trash comes. We avoid purfumes, bleaches, and unnecessary plastics when we can and then balance it all off with a round of cussing so as to keep some balance in our life. hahaha ;)
Great Post, really got me thinking.

[Randi]

We've been using those funny light bulbs for several years now. Ever since we had a house fire because a ceiling light over heated due to high wattage bulbs. I try to buy less and make smaller meals so we don't have a lot of leftover waste. I turn off the water while brushing my teeth. I make my own "natural" cleaning products. They work really well, too!!!

[Lelainia]

-We have our own organic garden, which we've had for 10 years or so. We do not use pesticides. Any fetilizers are 100% organic.

-We compost daily. We have a small compost bin in our kitchen which my dh dumps at our big one in the garden. The compost gets used every spring in our garden.

-We share veggies overstocks from our garden with our friends as well as the foodbank. I also freeze and can our produce.

-We use a clothes line to dry our clothes when the weather is good.

-We shut off lights if we are not using them. (Everyone is extremely well trained in this in our home-thank my Gramps for that!)

-We recycle cans, plastic, paper, cardboard, etc. daily. In BC we get bins for this and they get picked up by the recycler guys on garbage day.

-We often carpool.

-We recycle grocery bags back to the store and are moving towards cloth bags.

-We have a water saver showerhead.

-We have a low flow toilet. (If you don't have one, you can make yours low flow by placing a brick in the toilet tank. The brick displaces water, requiring less. You can also bend the arm of the bulb in the tank down a bit so it takes less volume to float it. You'll fill the tank with slightly less water each flush.)

[Seth]

Very cool new products.

[Shirley Ende-Saxe]

Yep, doing your things to try to be green and also, collage was a conscious choice to use the massive flood of images that bury us to make art. Its a reuse part of the equation. Also buying fair trade coffee, it uses 85% shade-grown and organic and that keeps the tree canopy in place for song-birds. Oh, also found a source for local chickens and milk, though that may not count as much.

Whats with the pin-hole in the stalk of the tulip? What does that do to make it last longer. I'll use that idea! Thanks!