Not a good idea after all

Started by Diane Whitehead, June 03, 2023, 07:16:30 PM

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Diane Whitehead

50 years ago I began my new 1/2 acre garden by planting bulbs in the fall.  I knew I'd be planting in the same areas in the spring and didn't want to spear my new bulbs.  I had seen lemon balm growing at my rented house and decided it would be a good idea to plant one above each cluster of bulbs.  

I had no idea how generously that plant self-sows.  Come early spring, it wasn't possible to tell where the bulbs were until they came up.  

I've been pulling out lemon balm ever since, though my son liked it to make smoothies so I never totally eliminated it.
Diane Whitehead        Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
cool mediterranean climate  warm dry summers, mild wet winters  70 cm rain,   sandy soil

MarcR

Diane,

I sympathize!  Perhaps a twig or plastic straw would have worked better.
Marc Rosenblum

Falls City, OR USA

I am in USDA zone 8b where temperatures almost never fall below 15F  -9.4C.  Rainfall 50"+  but none  June-September.  We seldom get snow; but when it comes we get 30" overnight.  soil is sandy loam with a lot of humus.  Oregon- where Dallas is NNW of Phoenix.

Judy Glattstein

I used to over-plant with grape hyacinths. Their even earlier growth serves as an aide memoire when I go to plant new bulbs in early autumn.