Birthday Bulbs

A wheelbarrow filled with 200 daffodil bulbs.

Mom wanted to do something special for my 35th birthday (yes, that was back in October but there is a reason I'm writing this post now). She came up with one of the most meaningful, loving, and special gifts I have ever received. Here is a wheelbarrow full of daffodil bulbs.  Four different varieties. 200 bulbs. They are King Alfred Trumpet Daffodils, Large Cupped Stainless Daffodils, Quail Jonquilla Daffodils, and Sundisc Jonquilla Daffodils. 

Daffodil bulbs waiting to be planted.

She intended to plant the bulbs before my birthday, but in the midst of her planning and preparing this special surprise, the basement flooded and she hurt her back. You all remember that lovely event, right?She also intended to surprise me by buying two new trees, a redbud and a weeping cherry tree, and having them planted before my birthday. Again, her plans were thwarted. In addition, she began the process of ordering and creating a wonderful stone for our first Wheaten, Winnie, so that we can bury her in the backyard. We are hoping to replace a redbud that we lost in a storm and begin growing a new weeping cherry tree (my very favorite tree in our yard) because ours is as old as I am and may need to be removed soon. I love that tree so much, I keep hoping it will hold on a bit longer!

Mom felt really badly that she wasn't able to execute all of the steps of her birthday surprise. But just knowing what she intended to do, the thought, the energy, and the love that went into it all was enough!

We will get the trees picked out, purchased, and planted one of these days. And we will get Winnie buried too! (She's been patiently waiting for seven years now. :)). Foremost on our minds right now is Mom's health.

There are freshly planted daffodil bulbs underneath this patch of dirt!

Fortunately, the woman who taught the class in which Mom learned all about bulbs, was available to plant the bulbs for us. In the end, we are glad we hired her to do it, as she knew so much more about the placement and grouping of the bulbs. In the Fall she planted eleven little patches of daffodils for us to look forward to this Spring.

Part of our backyard.

The bulbs are planted among the junipers, grasses, sedum, dappled willows, burning bush (my 10 year anniversary planting), and mums. Here is half of the length of our backyard where the daffodils are planted.

More of our backyard. We hope to expand this area even more!

Here is the other part, where we hope to plant not only the redbud tree but lots of other pretty things. Even after 35 years in the same house, our yard is definitely still a work in progress. Mom loves gardening, but between my illness, working, and her health issues she hasn't been able to engage in this hobby as much as she would like. Mom is having a hard time looking towards Spring and Fall this year knowing that she will not be able to do any gardening, and instead will be recovering from surgeries. I continue to pray that she will be able to enjoy gardening more fully when this health 'adventure' is over and that she will have many years of gardening pleasure.

I absolutely delight in watching our yard change from season to season. And I love the new plantings she adds each year. This Fall, I was able to go with Mom to pick out all of the mums in these photos. I love that sort of 'outing'. Mom likes it when I make decisions and help pick things out, so it works well. :)

For me, the yard and our home is the place where, other than my small outings, I spend every hour of every day. Having beautiful flowers, trees, and plants to watch throughout the seasons has comforted me and lifted my spirits a lot throughout the years. I sit in my den and watch the weeping cherry tree change from season to season. I sit in the sunroom and look out on the backyard, where the daffodils will soon be in bloom. 

This is why her birthday gift was so meaningful to me. I place a lot of value in making the environment we live in one that we like to be in, is healing, and comforting. Being surrounded by trees and flowers is very healing to me. The variety that they bring throughout the seasons can help to break up the monotony of being in the same environment 24/7.

The first of the daffodils poking up!

Today, Mom said she had a surprise for me. The sun was shining, and we took a little walk around the yard, as is our custom on an almost daily basis in the Spring, Summer, and Fall (excepting last year when I could literally NOT walk around the entire yard). I took my first little walk in the yard today!

And look what she had found! The very first of the Birthday Bulbs popping up. I cannot wait to see what all the different varieties of daffodils look like!

Blessings,

Emily