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PAGE 18, WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, MA1RCH 29, 1989 Bulbs are sure sign-s- of spring It's March and spring is surely on its way, although signs maY be few and far between depend- ing on where you live in Canada. One o the first sure indicators to which everyone looks forward is fiowers - such as crocus, winter aconite, snowdrops, miniature daffodils and the very early botanical tulips. The blooms of these early spring fiowering bulbs provide relief from the grey winter blahs and lift the spirits. The "ittie bulbs" bloom first- among the earliest is Eranthis ýiyemalis, the winter aconite. Lookxing like its buttercup relatives, Eranthis is only about nine centimeters tail. About the same time and size as Eranthis, we can expect to see the delicate littie flowers of Galanthus, the snowdrop. It naturalizes beautifully and great drifts of snowdrops may last for decades. Following quickly are the fiowers of other "little bulbs", such as Iris reticulata (dwar IrsChionodoxa (glory-of-the- soW),* Puschkinia libanotica and Scilla siberica-ali very hardy and under 10 cm in height. However, the best known har- binger of spring is undoubtedly the crocus. The earliest include the botanical Crocus ancyrensis (orange or gold) C.chrysanthus (blue, purpie, yelelw, orange and white), C. tomasînianus ( briglit Contet Plan yot.r garden page 19 Controlling earwigs page 19 Tips on bulb flowers page 21 lavender) and the large flowering Dutch crocus, C. vernus, avail- able in a wide range of fresh colors. The spring fiower show then moe nobotanical narcissi and tulips. Amont the former, the miniature cyclaxnîneuw cultivars apear first.- Some examples are "perary Gold, "Peeping Tom, ..... "Jack Sni*pe,» and the multi fiowering "Tete a Tete,» aIl about 25 to 30 cm in height. Aniong tulips, the earliest to bloom are the species such as Tulipat tarda, turkenstanica, and ..... urumiensis. These litle yellow and white tulips are the direct descendants of the very first varieties discovered by the Dutch in their travels in Msia Minor about four centuries ago. They are still cultivated' today, vir- tually unchanged from their oni- gina appearance. Soon after they 'fiower, the botanical Tul*a aufmanniana shows ts reablossoms. Stand- ing only about 20 cm, Kumn niana is sometimes called the water lily tulip due tothe way 4 the pointed petals open wide. Some of its best known cultivars are "Heart's Delight" (brilliant red, rose edged), 'Stresa" ( cur- rant red, yellow edged) and "Shakespeare" (bright red, edged salmon). SEE PAGE 21 __________________________________ Growing tulips is a 400-year tradition for Dutch Tulips have been cultivated for centuries. The Dutch began growing and breeding them nearly 400 years ago, using varieties found growving wild in medieval Turkey. But there is some suspicion that even these very early tulips were the ro- duct of crossbreedin g by Turish growers, including t h e varieties plantedby the lherbltCaou Clusius in the garden of the Leyden Hortus Botanicus in 1593. Today, both the species and garden hybrid tulips found in stores across the country are al descended from these first known varieties. To bloom in sping hey must be planted in autumn. In fact, even though it is late in the yeair, it is not necessarily too late to have tulips in your garden. First, find a spot where the ground is not frozen (perhaj)s under leaves or near the founda- tion of the house) and plant the tulips about 20 cm deep. Water welI to start them growing and cover with a thick layer of mulch to keep frost from heaving them out of the ground. In spring, they should bloom as well as those planted earlier in the faîl - albeit a week or so later. The tali. showy fiowers we enjoy today are not the sarne as the tulips of 400 years ago. In fact, in those days they were Suite small. These early forms lîve on in the species tulips, which-desnite the similarity to their wild -forbears - now are cultivated products of Holland. The species - or botanical tulips are gzenerally small (often star-shaped) flowers, frequently borne in small clusters on each stem and are small bulbs best left in the ground for years to naturalize. The list includes T. tarda (yel- low with white tips,up te five fiowers per stem); Tturkestanica- up to nine creamy yellow little - niana (&reay white, pink red utside) andT.urumiensis (three ;0 ive fiowers per stem; golden yellow inside, bronze outside; 15 -m taîl). From these relative pure, un- changed specimens it .is just a small step to the cultivars (con- traction of "cultivated.variety" ) of some Of the species tulips, such as T. kaufmnanniana, T. g ii, T. fosteriana. Ms a rule, these are classed with the botanical tulips, although they Ir el 'y rida which have retained. many of the properties of the original species. 8 fIndoors Visit Our Showroom at 25 Thickson Rd. N. at (Whitby Shopping Fair) 43241100 or lm8OOu263n3754 (Pick Up Our 80 Page Catalogue) L~o-It-Yo1.1raEdf IÇita Nirke Différent Sty1e~ Outdoor Living. v ~~erfèct for Spa~i. ic1os~re~ Yea.r RcrnrnLd rder~ I~oom