Growing bulbs for foliage, not just flowers

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I was talking to a friend yesterday who asked when was the right time to plant bulbs, considering that they would bloom in the spring. And it occurred to me that if you're just focusing on blooms, you are missing most of the beauty from plants grown from bulbs.

It's October and this is the right time to plant bulbs here in the desert. They will start to grow in a few weeks and there will be a lot of beautiful, green foliage throughout the winter. Yes, they will bloom in spring, but in the meantime, you will be looking at foliage, not dirt.

My garden is a foliage garden. I like to see green instead of dirt. When my freesia, iris, etc. bloom, it's a bonus, that's all. So I look very carefully at the appearance of the foliage, that is, the leaves.

All of the bulbs in my garden flower, including the Elephant Ears, and the Cannas. But its's not the flowers that I am interested in, it's the tropical foliage. And while you will have to wait several months for blooms, you will get the beautiful foliage right away.

Now is the time to plant bulbs. Especially if you're sick of looking at dirt!

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