Last year our flower bed provided much joy. This year, not so much.

Spring time brings flowers to view, bulbs planted the previous fall or some that are residents from years past, struggle free out of the ground to provide the beauty and scents we enjoy.

Due to an abundant and possibly over- enthusiastic application of bedding materials, this years’ bounty was greatly diminished. This is my humble opinion, but I offer evidence and readers may draw their own conclusions.

My husband and resident gardener has been overly focused on the flower bed he built last year. It is a testament to his skills as a bricklayer and garden designer- a showcase for floral displays during the spring, summer and even the fall season.

Hubby consulted several on-line nursery sites. Eventually he shopped, with list in hand, of what he considered to be the optimum for his display of spring bulbs. Last year we had a plethora of pink, lavender, purple, and a variety of yellow shades, which all sprang from the ground, in proper succession to greet the spring sun.

This year, the population in this planter has dwindled, much to my hubby‘s consternation. The missing tulips/daffodils/hyacinths are a constant topic of conversation in recent weeks. He even found a photograph that we took of last year‘s fabulous floral display.

He’d sent this photo to his mom to cheer her up in her last days, and it was still resident in his phone’s text records, undeleted.

He strolled into the kitchen waving his Android under my nose. His screen displayed the photograph and he wanted an explanation for the lack of blossoms this year.

“Look here. See this purple one (he indicated a Hyacinth)  in the corner of the bed? It’s not there this year.” He went on to enumerate the quantities of Daffodils, and true enough the numbers were diminished when compared to the pictorial records.

I did agree with his assessment. There was a distinct difference in the displays I’d proudly posted on my Facebook page last April, and the paltry collection emerging out to greet the sun this year.

When I went outside to gather information, I could see some tiny green sprouts doing their best to poke up through a pretty hefty layer of chips.

I pulled my husband out front to show him the evidence, and voiced my conclusion that maybe his application of chips was a bit heavy-handed last fall.

He of course is not willing to take on the blame. His mumbled excuses mentioned squirrels that might’ve dug up his bulbs and serve them as an entrée for their lunches. Or possibly the resident mole that frequents our front yard, maybe that critter was the culprit?

I reminded him about the 10 yards plus of wood chips, those free deliveries that he adores, and that a good deal of them wound up pilled into the empty space in this planter last fall.

I offer these photos in evidence… the pile of chips delivered this fall.

This shows the struggling tulip stems’ attempts to emerge from under the chips. What I’ll call an “overly enthusiastic application” of bedding materials.

I rest my case.

by