Tulips survive on the island

My bright orange tulips made it through another winter and have come up with surprising vigor. The clumps are generally large and healthy and so are the flowers. That's something I did not expect, given the fact that tulips generally wither away with age. And that these particular bulbs are planted in poor soil, breathe auto exhaust 24/7 and get an annual top-dressing of salt, sand and road grit.

 

The city just repainted the traffic lines in time for them to harmonize with the tulips in this island planting and the Poeticus Narcissus, with orange and yellow perinanths, which are planted along the curb — just out of view.

This view shows you that the city has not, however, repainted the borders of the raised island bed itself. Its paint is chipping away in big chunks and strips. And you can also see that I've been rather neglectful of this bed, too. I have not trimmed back the dead sedum flowerheads and I've let the Iris germanica get totally out of hand. It likes this location and would happily take over the entire bed.

 

The tulip bulbs came from Brent and Becky's Bulbs and Old House Gardens and I've also written more about them (complete with close-ups of each variety and IDs) here. It appears as though I have as many bulbs in bloom this year as last — essentially the same number as I planted — making them continuing traffic stoppers! 
  

Comments

[Lisa at Greenbow]

What strong plants you have here. They make quite a lovely statement in this inhospitable area.

[Altoon]

What a good citizen you are, Linda, planting in the middle of the street. And the tulips are simply gorgeous. I plant some cutting tulips in my veggie garden and a beautiful orange lily tulip is ready for cutting; it's called Ballerina and is very graceful. Who would have thought orange would work so well?

[Les]

Just when I thought I couldn't stomach another tulip photo, along comes that last shot. Very nice!

[Julie Siegel]

First: a girl can never have too much orange!
Second: don't you love how plants thrive or not sometimes despite us?
Third: I actually prefer the artfully-weathered yellow paint on the raised island bed...

[jo]

Hiya,
Nice story.
However much I like the looks of the island (why is it there? No room for pedestrians to put their feet), I hate the thought of you being exposed to all that traffic when tending or planting the bed.
Actually, it has been my experience that plants love oil and petrol seeped into gravel. Isn't that what fertilizers are made of anyway?

[LINDA from EACH LITTLE WORLD]

Jo — It is a "traffic calming island," meaning that it forces drives to slow down because it makes the driving lane narrower at the point. And it can be a little nerve-wracking to work out there. I try to do it when most folks are at work and there is less traffic on the street! And never thought about the petrol/fertilizer connection. You may be on to something!