I used to pretty much just plant daffodils, jonquils, other narcissus and crocuses.

Then I became addicted to British and Irish garden presenters courtesy of the television streaming services.

Monty Don and Gardeners’ World , and other presenters like Alan Titchmarsh and Helen Dillon have opened up my eyes to so much!

When people come to my garden they feel they are in a garden from the UK and that is the highest compliment anybody can pay me. My garden is not a formal garden it is more in the cottage style and in the back it’s woodland and shade gardens.

I have been adding a lot of bulbs to this garden and thanks to Monty Don in particular and his love of Fritillaria, I have been expanding my bulb horizons so to speak.

This year I not only delved into the world of buying heirloom bulbs which I find fascinating and it feeds the inner history buff in me, I have also been branching out to add different kinds of bulbs to my garden beds.

I have to think these wonderful U.K. produced gardening programs for expanding my garden horizons. We just do not have that kind of programming in the US and sadly I think it’s because of the development dweller mentality of someone can plant it for you. And the knowledge base of your average commercial landscaper isn’t that of a British gardener.

And then of course there are the people that think hardscaping and creating an outdoor living rooms and outdoor kitchens are gardening.

I urge anyone who likes to garden to just get out there and try. Gardening is patience, love, work, trial and error, and planning. But you can do it yourself, or at least you can do the things that aren’t too big for you to handle by yourself. And in my humble opinion, that includes laying out your gardening beds and picking the plant material.

Today fritillaria, winter wolf’s bane, Spanish bluebells, and W.P. Millner daffodils arrived. I will keep them cool and dry and out of today’s rain. And they will be a job for the weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!