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Easter Time and my 500 White Tulips are Blooming!

By 04/20/2014January 24th, 201961 Comments

I planted my white tulip bulbs last year in November and December. And then I worried that they wouldn’t be in the ground long enough and wouldn’t come up.

It’s funny, when I first ordered 300, that number seemed like an incredible amount but then when I started planting, well I barely got the front yard done.

So then I ordered 200 more for the back yard. And 200 white daffodils.  White Tulips View from Driveway

The ones in the front are Cleveland Tulips (that’s what I remember). They grow two feet tall and they are spectacular. I love our curved, flagstone pathway. For tips on how to choose the colour of your stone, see this post.

Before Decorative Gate

Before

Of course I have to throw in some before photos whenever I show my yard because the transformation was so big. For those of you who are new to my blog, we ripped out the front and back last year in April.

Front Decorative Gate

Here’s how my tulips look around the decorative gate that Maryanne White designed for me.

Lambs Ear

My Lambs Ear has totally taken off, I’m constantly clipping it so it stays low and looks more like ground cover. I love the white daffodils growing in their midst.

before front

And another before photo of the yard before we demolished it. You can see that we also moved the downspout and beefed up our one and only column. Much better (below).

Flagstone Path

I can’t wait until the boxwood grows in enough to be clipped into real hedge.

Before Front Yard

I don’t think you’ve even seen this before pic, check out the gravel driveway formerly used to park a trailer. My neighbours who live directly across the street are so much happier with their view now, haha.

Maria Killam's Front Yard After

We still need shutters on the two windows on the right, but after my colour fiasco last year, I haven’t sourced another set.

Front Door Pots

Here are two of my pots beside my front door. Would you believe I planted them way back in February!

Front Door Pots

I especially love this green plant (I don’t remember what it’s called).
Easter Bunnies & White Tulips

Here’s a glimpse of the tutear we had custom made for our vegetable garden this winter. This morning Terreeia and I hid all kinds of fun, egg-shaped easter toys for William and Markus who arrived for the hunt a little later.

Searching for Eggs

My rosebushes have really taken off, I’m so happy! You can see the kale plants on the right in the vegetable garden, still going strong.

I’ve been making green smoothies for Irene and I, last week I clipped some Kale leaves, plunked them standing up in a mug and said “munch, munch”. She was not impressed, haha. Definitely easier to eat that much Kale in a smoothie.

Egg Hunting

Here’s Markus, scouting out the terra cotta pots for Easter eggs.

Comparing finds

See, I didn’t even have enough tulips for the backyard! I still need lots and lots of Perennials. Almost every weekend, you’ll find me at the Nursery.

Markus and William

And here are my angel Nephews, posing for the camera!

What colour are your tulips?

Related posts:

Why Perfectly Normal Bloggers Plant Tulips in the Middle of Winter

My New Decorative Gate: Before & After

How to Choose the Colour of your Gentek Gutters

61 Comments

  • Kathy says:

    Happy Easter! Adorable little ones…beautiful yard.

  • Shelley Gardiner says:

    Beautiful tulips and incredible transformation with landscape.
    I usually have tulips all over my yard..Some are planted at the base of my 60 + year old cherry tree and grow right through the grass.. This year the wild horses that roam the country neighbourhood took a liking to the tulips and ate all of them..They left my daffodils!
    So I will enjoy your tulip pictures Maria..

  • Ginny says:

    Stunning! Happy Easter Maria

  • Livia says:

    I love your front and back yard Maria. It looks amazing with all of your white tulips. The weather in Oantario is a bit behind … Our yellow and purple tulips are only 10″ high, their flowers are yet to show.

  • I love seeing the before and after. Love the tulips! It’s not warm enough here for the tulips, but seeing all yours bloom makes me think mine might actually bloom, too!

    Also, I can’t help telling you that I clicked because I wanted to see your tulips, but the best part of the post was the egg hunt. It was a nice surprise.

    Penelope

  • Hi Maria, you have done an amazing job with your home. Looks amazing. Absolutely, love the white tulips. I have never seen white daffodils before. Beautiful!!

    Deborah

  • Bhavana says:

    ohmuhgawd!! The heat was killing me. Your tulips’ images came to the rescue. I can only, only imagine how wonderful it feels to finally see your tulips blooming.

    Im sure cars passing by your home take a leisurely time or come back and linger. And you are seriously upping the real estate price in your neighbourhood with all that neat landscaping.

  • franki says:

    Isn’t SPRING grand?!?!? (and, nephews, too!!) franki

  • Tami says:

    I am very inspired by this! I will be planting up a storm this fall and I think I’m gonna force some now, right here, in the house.

  • Deb Bruna says:

    So beautiful. Perhaps, instead of shutters, you could replace the window to the right of your column with a big bay window.

  • Annie says:

    Beautiful landscaping, so peaceful.

  • Lorri Terkelsen says:

    The white is lovely, I would love to see it at night! White flowers really pop at night! What color are the roses? What are you putting in your earn?

  • Marsha Stopa says:

    Maria,
    Your neighbors have to LOVE you. Glorious!

    Best,
    Marsha

  • Mdrive says:

    so beautiful! thank you for posting these fabulous pics….i have one question though…i’ve been wanting to do a mass planting of tulips (i’m in the midwest) but i keep reading you must let the leaves turn completely YELLOW before cutting them back! i would love to hear how you will be dealing with this (hiding the yellowing leaves with other plants?)

    maybe you or someone else here can address this issue….thanks!

    • Barbara says:

      Hmmm, in most spots I don’t think Maria has thought about that much. I certainly would not have planted tulips in the way that she did. Although of course they are beautiful blooming. I am an experienced gardener.

      Plant your tulips in groups–a circle–of ten or twelve close together. Then you must have a plant in front of them that will grow up high right after the tulips finish blooming. For that reason I prefer EARLY tulips, you can read about the different types online. Darwin are fantastic.

      You can cut off the stems, but do not touch the leaves until completely yellowed and they are almost falling off by themselves. This way they will return for a long time.

      • LaJuana says:

        Excellent suggestions! I was just at Colonial Williamsburg where they have thousands and thousands of tulips and they were starting to remove them as they were past prime. They don’t leave them in the ground at all because they need to depend on lush flowers each spring and can’t take a chance like we home gardeners can. My guess was that Maria would remove hers too but since she said she was in the garden shops every weekend, maybe she’s buying things…lots of things, to put in front of them. The white on white gardens are gorgeous!

  • Kathy says:

    Lovely garden, but what your façade is missing is not shutters, but window casings. The vinyl is trimmed right to the edge of the window units, which is cheaper and always doesn’t look quite right.

    And rather than undersized fake shutters, I would put a nice trellis in to fill the gap and add a spot of interest on the gable portion. A bit of trim board and contrasting siding or a gable vent might be nice too.

    • bfish says:

      I agree with Kathy’s recommendations; the lack of substantial window trim is pretty glaring to me too.

      Maria, I believe the upright green plant is a hellebore (I was thinking euphorbia but believe I see some helleborish leaves in there). Both bloom for a long time!

      Your yard is looking very pretty.

      • Diane says:

        Looks like hellebore to me also. Not sure what the grass is though.

        Love white tulips. I plant between 150 and 300 tulips and daffodils every year for the past 20 years. The tulips don’t always come back due to our wet winters and they rot or voles get them (Western Washington). They don’t want summer water so don’t plant thirsty plants near them. I plant mid to late varieties so they will bloom when the weather warms up and we can enjoy them more. I feed t hem when the tulips are 4″ to 6″ tall and I wait for them to burn brown and then remove them also. I do remove spent blossoms to aid the bulb in food storage for the next year. Like Barbara, I plant in drifts of 10 to 15 bulbs and find I dig up tulips when I try to put more in every year ( or another plant – so mark where they are in your garden and take pictures). I also plant in 8″ pots in the Fall, and kept them pretty dry during the winter, then plop the pot either in the ground or between plants on top of the soil. Angelique is my favorite and is just now blooming. Don’t put Caseron in your flower beds as it can kill your bulbs.

    • Mary says:

      Love the trellis idea! Perfect!

    • Mary says:

      …and have the trellis echo the style of your charming fence!

  • mairi says:

    The tall green plant in your planter strongly resembles Bells of Ireland.
    Love the all green combination next to your green door..

    • LaJuana says:

      Excellent suggestions! I was just at Colonial Williamsburg where they have thousands and thousands of tulips and they were starting to remove them as they were past prime. They don’t leave them in the ground at all because they need to depend on lush flowers each spring and can’t take a chance like we home gardeners can. My guess was that Maria would remove hers too but since she said she was in the garden shops every weekend, maybe she’s buying things…lots of things, to put in front of them. The white on white gardens are gorgeous!

  • Vicki Albert says:

    Your home is beautiful inside and out!! Enjoy…..

  • SusanS says:

    So, so pretty! But the best “ornaments” in the lawn are those two precious nephews! Just a thought: Could the carpenter who made your tuteur make your shutters?

  • Jan Mears says:

    The tall green plant is Hellebore – I plant many in my garden as they bloom – along with heather and white snowdrops – first each sparing ( February and March here). They range from white to shades of green to purple and mauve to deep purple black. I too love white tulips and have planted many as well as many types in my back garden. Although I would love to have only white tulips everywhere the deer are big eaters here so my daffodils fill my front garden and are all shades of yellow(deer do not like yellow flowers or scented flowers). Tulips, hosta and roses are favorites of the deer so this limits my planting choices in my front garden. I have boxwood and lavender in pots and a yew hedge. If you love to have shades of green with white flowers, try hosta and astilbe in a shade garden along with white geraniums and impatiens. I can grow these in my back garden. There are many white flowered perennials to work with for the different seasons.

  • sandyc says:

    Absolutely gorgeous. Your whole neighborhood must be ecstatic and maybe inspired. Tulips are my favorite – I take a bunch of them over a dozen roses any day.

    As far as your windows, I’m not an expert but I do know from resourcing potential replacements for my 30-year-old dark frames which add character to my home, so many modern windows, and apparently especially vinyl ones, are not very pretty. I look at the HOA across the street where they have allowed homeowners to switch and the homes end up looking cheap and ordinary. Kathy sounds as though she knows about windows, and I like her idea of a trellis or a unique vertical garden to fill in the wall space between the windows and draw the eye to the extension of greenery rather than focus on the better trimmed windows that have to be there. I bet Maryanne would have some great ideas.

  • celeste says:

    Potted plant: grass=fescue, white flowers=primrose or primula, upright green=bells of Ireland

  • Robyn says:

    Very impressive! Your bright green plant in the planter is a hellebore also called a Christmas Rose or Lenten Rose. It does look like the Irish Bells plant that was mentioned but much too early for that. Hellebores are very early bloomers here in the west. It is nice to see a well planned, calm landscape plan.

    • Sandy says:

      I agree on the hellebore/bells issue — and Maria might like some of the wonderful white hellebores available for her perennial garden (they self-sow, so you get lots). There are many varieties available, classic white to double to upward-facing. They’re one of my favorites.

  • Fran says:

    Happy Easter, Maria! Your nephews are so adorable. And your flagstone path, gate and front yard . . . lovely!!

  • Maria, your yard and gardens are beautiful! Thank you for sharing. I have been watching the Fraser Valley Tulip Festival’s website and hoping to get out there soon to see their fields in full bloom! Seeing your bulbs in bloom tells me it’s time now!!!

  • Maria, take a look at the tulip festival this week at Seabird Island – it’s about 1/2 hour drive for you, you won’t be disappointed, there are acres and acres of tulips – stunning. I bet your Nephews would love it too! Your garden is beautiful – perfect!

  • Wow, very impressive!

  • Deb Lee says:

    Holy smokes – the transformation is astounding!! So impressive. Your house and surrounding land look simply beautiful; your neighbours are VERY lucky!! 🙂

  • Victoria says:

    Love what you have accomplished thus far it truly is lovely Maria. I cannot even imagine planting 300 tulips bet your back was killing you after that. So well worth it just beautiful. I vote for the shutters they will frame the windows and finish off that portion of the house. I assume they will be white to go with the trim. Maryanne’s plan was definitely worth the money. I am certain your neighbors are deliriously happy about these changes! Let’s see what would I choose as a view motor home or a lovely landscape?
    As for handsome nephews they both favor you. Williams little face totally resembles you while Marcus has the same coloring. I know you are loving being closer to family.

  • Victoria says:

    Wow! Just love seeing all your transformations, Maria! Love the tulips! And who knew 300 tulips wouldn’t be enough! Amazing! Love those cute nephews having fun in your beautiful yard too. That’s the best thing about having a wonderful home — sharing with family and friends!

  • carol jane says:

    Your tulips are gorgeous, and your home is just lovely. I would love a one story ranch home. Guess its time to start looking!! Thanks for all your inspiration and talent!

  • Nikki says:

    i saw white daffodils for the first time TODAY… and when I mentioned it to someone she told me they are narcissus… same thing?? Looks very classy and serene in your use. And yes, you need more.
    Thanks for sharing….
    N

  • Ellen says:

    Maria,
    Your tulips look gorgeous! Love the White !!
    Enjoy your beautiful landscaping.
    Ellen

  • Elara says:

    Wow, your yard looks so beautiful now!

  • karen says:

    The transformation is amazing! Looks so beautiful Maria & Terreeia. All that hard work behind you, this year you get to enjoy and play. Love seeing the before and after pictures. The green plant is a Hellebore. I have lots of white and also green ones. Love them because they do so well in winter and nice to have some interest during those months. Like the Christmas Rose that is a hellebore. Hope you had a great Easter weekend

  • Stefanie says:

    Gorgeous. Love the simple white and green. Question – for someone who usually fills space with brighter colours why did you decide to keep everything white and green?

  • Carol J says:

    I bet your neighbors across the street are happy! Your yard is gorgeous, your nephews adorable. When I look at the now photo of where the gravel driveway used to be, I long to see the border plants continued right up to the curb. Ahh, but it’s beautiful the way it is.

  • How beautiful, the stuff of dreams for me…tulips flowering in your garden. WOW Maria, this looks just fresh.

  • Connie says:

    I’d loe to see some groups of 10-12 yellow tulips strtegically placed……there are no focall points…lol.

  • Rob says:

    I’m not a green person, but omg Maria, I love your front door and , of course, the rest of your wonderful home….but that front door !!!!!!!

  • megeranski says:

    Wow!

    NOTE: Lamb’s ear becomes invasive like you won’t believe. Be aggressive when trimming, or it will rampage your garden.

    Ok, maybe not as far north as you are, but, LOL Lamb’s Ear is traditionally not very well behaved. Just wanted to warn ya.

    I yank mine out by the boatload and give it away on craigslist. 🙂

    Your photos brought smiles to my face, thank you!

  • megeranski says:

    Anyone ever say your older nephew looks just like you? Same eyes, same smile.

    They both are lucky to have you as an aunt!

    • Bhavana says:

      Oh yes, I wanted to say the same. Your face (up top in the pink band) and his, look the same. If you give us a pic of you at his age – other than a girly dress and the blonde hair – we wouldnt be able to tell!

  • Betsy OShea says:

    Love white tulips also. Your fence is particularly stunning. So unique! I would turn all my flowers from color to white if i could afford it. Love the look. Nice job

  • Karen Swedlund says:

    Absolutely beautiful landscaping and flowers.
    Next spring it will be your yard in a magazine photo shoot!
    Perfect location for a fun Easter egg hunt.
    Happy Easter Maria! Shalom!

  • BillP says:

    To not like white tulips is like not liking babies. I have found that the daffodils and jonquils are much easier to tend long term and have a greater chance of blooming in subsequent years with less work. Maybe that is why tulips are so special and such a delight.

  • mrsben says:

    So pretty, Maria and thanks for sharing.

    Here where I live (in Eastern Ontario), I am beginning to question if Spring is just a figment of expression or one’s imagination as it really looks and feels more like Autumn. ☺ -Brenda-

  • What a difference great design choices and effort make.

  • Judy H. says:

    Your white tulips are nothing short of glorious!!
    I love white flowers of all kinds. My husband and I were married many Aprils ago and my bouquet was made of white roses,white tulips and green ivy. It was simple and gorgeous. The florist kept telling me I needed to add color, but I refused and I’m glad I did! Imagine how many years of joy your tulips will bring you!

  • megeranski says:

    Gorgeous! Thanks for posting this again on Facebook. It is absolutely uplifting!

    You asked what color our tulips are — I won’t plant them because of their high failure rate. I am so intolerant of fussy plants LAUGH!!

    DO consider ‘googling’ to see what and how to feed them, for best success in coming back. There are ways to increase the probability. (One is to cut the blooms and bring them inside — you do not want the blooms to start forming seeds.)

    There are varieties which are known for repeat blooms over the years, if that helps.

    You do not in fact have to wait for the leaves to turn yellow. You should wait as long as you possibly can, true. I end up cutting my daffodil leaves back to 4 inches or so, about 3 weeks after they have bloomed. I just can’t stand it anymore.

    You can lob all leaves back to a standard height as well, and give that a try. 🙂 As long as there is SOME leaf, the bulb is getting fed.

    As always, your blogs and postings are so excellent and enjoyable!

  • Sally says:

    Oh Maria! What a beautiful sight with all the white blooming daffodils! You have inspired me to get in the yard and get my hands dirty! How lovely.

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