Bulbous

A reminder that not only Back-to-School but also Bulb-Planting Season is almost upon us! Yesterday I used up two of my Christmas gift cards ordering dozens of tulip bulbs from White Flower Farm in Connecticut: Stretch Tulip Mix and Black Parrot Tulips. To make sure I get what I want, I like to order early, even though you really don't have to plant bulbs until well into autumn.
Several friends have bewailed the fact that in their gardens tulip bulbs become nothing more than "deer salad." I'm very fortunate not to have that problem, even though I've seen deer bed down just feet away from the tulip garden.
I've been meaning to say this for a while about these little garden/animal/nature/weather items that I write: Nobody could write a nature column like the late Teddy Browning of Pocopson Township, whose "Notes from Turtle Creek" ran in this newspaper in the late 1980s. His enthusiasm, knowledge and deep understanding of the natural world were inspiring.