The last Tulips

I planted a mix of Tulips under our weeping Beech (Fagus sylvatica 'Purple Fountain') to complement its emerging spring foliage.

They are planted among Astilbes whose early foliage is bronze-purple. I hoped that might confuse the rabbits, but the Tulips came up much faster than the Astilbes. Thus I caged the flowers as they came up to protect them from our marauding rabbits.

The Tulips are 'James Wild', 'Madras' (below), and 'Prinses Irene' (bottom).

I decided it would be too hard to fit the cages back over the Tulips and into the Astilbe foliage if I took them off for the pictures. Wrong decision. New rule: Always remove cages before snapping a photo.

Comments

[Peter/Outlaw]

The color combination worked beautifully.

[Barbara H.]

I like it with the cages! Think of it as an art installation - that has a great purpose. The metal is actually a nice foil to the other lovely colors.

[Linda from Each Little World]

The leaves come out this bronze gold color and then begin to darker to greenish purple. Love to watch the progression.

[Nell]

Wow, the beech weeps right down to tulip level! Or is that an illusion created by angle of photography?

Masterful combination; each of the elements -- beech foliage, tulips, and astilbes -- has a subtly blended mix of colors that includes bronze-purple.

[Nell]

I admire Barbara's positivity, but can't quite share it yet. Have just recently come to the realization that without a dog or funds for a deer fence, this garden will have to have a diminished or very different summer peak than it's had for the last 25 years.

I built it around the collection of daylilies planted by my father by adding plants unappetizing to deer -- but the daylilies are now of a scale that makes it irresistible to them in June and July. So I'm trying to resign myself to caging five or so favorites that are crucial to the color scheme of their sections and sacrificing the rest.

[Linda from Each Little World]

Not an optical illusion. The weeping branches are mingling with those Tulips.

[Linda from Each Little World]

Do you look at Margaret Roach;s blog (A Way to Garden)? She has a big property and is next to a state forest and is trying to landscape with deer. I don't remember what she may have fenced or not. But perhaps she has some suggestions. We are lucky that we only have a rabbit problem as some parts of town have deer issues. So disconcerting to have lots of deer and turkeys in an urban area. Makes any solutions very difficult for gardeners.

[Nell]

She fenced, ultimately (https://awaytogarden.com/just-saying-no-to-deer-with-fencing/). It's really the only sure solution -- and not an option for us. I try not to focus on not having done it back when I could afford it, because regret is so corrosive it blights the present. Adapting is the way forward. Also maybe going on a few long-deferred garden trips in what would be the daylily peak so I don't marinate in my unhappiness.

[ceci]

I sort of like the hard industrial looking wire with the soft tulips but can imagine that it wouldn't be to everyone's taste. Lovely colors and the beech is so lovely; I hope we get to see it again through the seasons!

We don't have much in the way of animal destroyers, other than our dogs who like to lie in the choicer day lilies, ferns and Japanese grasses. And really that is a self inflicted wound.

ceci

[Kris P]

That's a wonderful plant combination, Linda. I'm glad you have a successful strategy to thwart the wascally wabbit.

[Linda from Each Little World]

You are certainly right about not looking back and trying to move forward. I think about how my garden has all been planted and planned for certain climate conditions. Now those are changing and for the last three years at least, we've lost some perennials but mostly trees and shrubs from 5-20 years old. Hardiness zone did not matter. So I think many of us are going to learn to live with a lot of unexpected change in our gardens.

[rusty duck]

For all the miles that separate us, the cages are the same!

[Beth@PlantPostings]

That's a lovely Tulip and it looks great with the Beech foliage. I've given up on Tulips, but yeah...caging is required for most new plants I'm adding, except plants that actually repel rabbits. Ugh.

[Lisa at Greenbow]

Rabbits are horrid creatures in the garden. I was thinking about that a few days ago. The people that had feral cats are now gone and so are the cats. I think the cats did a better job of keeping the rabbit population down. Feral cats aren't the answer to anything though because they kill a whole lot more than rabbits.
Your color combinations are fabulous.
I have those lovely cages here and there in the garden too. So it goes. At least it isn't deer.