Joy without work

Lots of love to mother nature for inventing bulbs and rhizomes that require zero work and result in a cheery, gorgeous product!

There is nothing lovelier than waking up one spring morning to find something new and exciting poking up from the earth, budding, or in full bloom.

As a proponent of no-cost gardening, I especially appreciate the steadfast items that return year after year and very successfully self-propagate.

I've never seen a whole batch of tulips curl down as perfectly as mine did this year. Maybe I just wasn't looking before...

This is an example of my favourite coulour of tulip; when closed, the petals remind me of pink flamingoes. It's funny, because usually I hate pink in the garden. My love for flamingoes must outweigh my hatred of pink.

I'm also really pumped to have irises, thanks to the advice of You Grow Girl. I had no idea the rhizomes need to stick out of the soil, and after I found out I brushed off the tops, and voila! Though I get the feeling that before next year I will have to learn about splitting the rhizomes, because the clump I photographed is looking a bit too clumpy.

Irises have such dainty, complex flowers and amazing colours. The leaves aren't half bad, either. I may just go hacking up the gardens of friends and family to add a few varieties to my mix.