A Story - "Ballerina Tulips" and Pulmonaria, Daffodils, and Sweet Basil

A Story

Ballerina Tulips

The colourful pictures of tulips were very enticing.  Mom and I leaned close together studying the catalogue.

"My favourites are the scented orange Ballerina tulips," she said pointing with her arthritic finger.  "They're really special."

When I visited in May, Mom declared indignantly, "I watched the groundhog eat three Ballerina tulips this morning."

"Too bad,"  I commiserated.  "Maybe I should put mothballs around them, or get a motion activated squirter, or..."

Mom gazed out the window and sighed.

"No, I don't want any of that,"  she said quietly.

"He's cute and," she hesitated,"he's company."

Pulmonaria is so pretty and it is an early plant for pollinators.  Even though it was chilly here today (last night was -3C) and windy,  I saw a bumble bees buzzing around the pulmonaria this morning.  Pulmonaria likes to grow in part shade but on my property it's not overly fussy and tends to spread more than I would like. It's not too hard to get out though.  My soil is on the heavy side and I think they really like that.  I never fertilize it and it's always vigorous.  The leaves have fine hairs on them,  slightly prickly, so it doesn't get eaten by insects.
 

This clump of daffodils is interesting as I never planted plain yellow daffodils.  I had some doubles that I got years ago and I think they have reverted to their two parent plants - a yellow and a pale cream. I find it fascinating how some plants will revert over time. Anyway, all daffodils are lovely and cheerful.  They come back every year and multiply, and no little creatures like to eat them.

I started this basil from seed in January. Basil does very well on a windowsill even in the dead of winter. I am always surprised that it doesn't mind the chill by the window and the lower light levels. I have pinched off some of the top leaves to use in soup so it will branch out a bit more now.  

I accidentally bought some cinnamon basil (this is sweet basil) and I also planted some of it but I found the leaves had a strange chemically aftertaste that I didn't like.  I just watched The History Guy on Youtube and he had a video on saccharin  - the history and chemistry, etc.  Very interesting.   In the comments, some people said that saccharin tasted bitter to them and others said they liked the taste. I don't like the taste of Stevia. It's so individual how we taste things. I find cilantro tastes like the smell of skunk. Yuk.  If you haven't discovered The History Guy yet, definitely check him out .  He covers a whole wide range of history topics and produces them very well.