My Artistic Process

Spring is coming. Sure, not for another 7 or 8 months, but it's coming! And when you want bulbs in your yard, you have to start thinking about spring in summer because you have to plant in fall. For spring. See?

So I finally had a moment to plow through my John Scheepers' catalogue, and I identified a number of appealing specimens. Then I wrote them all down on the order form:

Am I going to order on paper, with pencil? Don't be ridiculous. This is the 21st century. But it's a handy way to keep track of what I'm thinking about. So I listed the varieties, then cut out the pictures to get a sense of what I've picked.

Turns out that I have no great affection for red flowers. Out of the entire catalogue, all 88 pages of it, I picked zero red flowers. Zip. Ok, one of the parrot tulips is striped with red. But still.

Laying out the images helps me to get a sense of my own failures (for instance, I do not need two different kinds of purple giant tulips.) and of the scale we're talking here. Do I have room for 200 bulbs? (Yes!)

Above, the finalists. Three daffodils, one crucus, three peonies, and the rest are tulips (even that pretty purple and white one in the lower left-hand corner). You can come check it all out in...March.