Green Acre: Bulbsapoppin’

Kamala, born in a coconut shell (hence the name), isn’t hopping around yet, but her feathers are starting to come in, and Mom and Dad (Cooper and Goldie) couldn’t be more proud of themselves! / Photo by Stephanie Cavanaugh.

THE COLORBLENDS catalogue hath arrived.

Best hop to it: Some of their spectacular collections of tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and allium are already sold out. 

I come to them for tulips alone, since I’d rather buy a bunch of daffs for a buck than deal with their foliage. A single whiff of a neighbor’s hyacinth is quite enough, thank you, and allium, though I love it, never works for me.

Tulips are their specialty, with terrific variety and excellent prices, and their customer service, judging from past phone calls, is top-notch and personable. Like actually dealing with a human who knows flowers. 

So, I wander the catalogue (which you can also see online, but I prefer dripping coffee and crumbs on actual pages).  

Oh, do I lust after Akebono (shown on the front), which is described as “a full-figured tulip from Japan,” but the pale yellow washed with soft red and a hint of green doesn’t suit my borders. Likewise, Three Kings, which are lily-flowered (their leaves are pointed at the tips and fold outward like a jester’s cap, or your less ostentatious royal crown) and a blazing clash of purple, red, yellow and orange blooms. 

Three Kings tulips from the Colorblends catalogue.

My garden is happiest in shades of purple and pink—a child’s birthday card minus the glitter. When those flowers open beneath the Kwanzan cherry, itself a blast of double pink blossoms with a wingspan that reaches from back porch to the garage and side wall to side wall, it is fabulous sight. (That’s for the three days or two weeks it’s all in bloom before a premature blast of heat or spring monsoons destroys the show). 

Smooch tulips from the Colorblends catalogue.

There are plenty of pinks in the catalogue: Smooch is a tempting mix of deep rose and soft pink bulbs that blooms in early spring; mid-spring is Pink Ardour, a blast of pure fuchsia; Mellow Drama brings together deep purple, mauve, and an eye-popping pink for a late spring show; and Pink Squared features two pinks, one an early bloomer, the other late, so you’ve made way for summer flowers just as summer begins. 

Mellow Drama tulip mix from the Colorblends catalogue.

Note that there’s a $60 minimum order (split it with a friend), and bulbs are shipped when you’re supposed to be planting them in your area, not early so they hang in the coat closet for a month or so—or lie forgotten in the garden shed. 

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Update on Kamala! As said last week, my baby parakeet was born in a coconut shell. She’s now two and a half weeks old and growing so fast. It’s a wonder I do anything but sit and watch her change.  

Last week I found the perfect little box for her on the street. This neighborhood is great for strolling out for bananas and finding things like a bird box with a sign saying FREE. It’s twice the size of the coconut shell and flat bottomed so it sits on the floor of the cage, so when she gets the guts to venture out, she won’t fall far. 

Her feathers are coming in fast, though I’m still not sure what her final colors will be. Mama Coop is pure white, Papa Goldie is predominantly green with yellow and black highlights and a tropical blue tail. It looks like Kami might have a white or pale blue body with a green head and wings. Such excitement!

Meanwhile, Cooper and Goldie snuggle with her much of the day, now that she’s recognizable as a bird, not a fat pink lagniappe.

When they’re not in the box they make-out passionately on an upper branch, eyes glazed over, as if congratulating themselves on a job well done. I hope that’s all they’re doing. Three birds are quite enough.