Paper Whites, Daffodills, Tulips, and the Windowboxes

My paper whites have been peeking their heads out from the mesh bag. I realized last week that they should have been started already. The plan was to use what was in the house for containers but I thought a visit to the thrift store might turn up something creative to plant them in. Didn't find anything unique but I do like what I came up with. There were 2 matching pairs. This fall no soil, I decided to uses small stones. If there are gnats hiding in my plants,  they won't find any organic matter with the stones and water. Not yet decided how I'll do the amaryllis. I probably will stick to soil and hope there's no problem.

It was nice to look up at the window boxes and not see dead shrubs. They have been replaced by new ones I bought discounted a couple of weeks ago. Trees and shrubs are now discounted 75%. I got one for fifty cents. Talk about a bargain. I bought a pot of ornamental grass and a shrub and only payed a couple of dollars for it all. There was plenty of tick weed, hosta, and cone flower but I have a hard time with cone flower and tick weed in my yard so although both are my favorite, there's no sunny place for them in the yard. I planted bulbs and daffodils in the window boxes; a little deeper than last year. Hope this will deter squirrels from digging. Only a few went in the sun window box because the plants there don't seem to want to die. 

I removed the sweet potato vine today but left the geraniums and spider plants. I added 1 shrub and a few tulips and daffodils. When frost gets to them I'll pull them up and plant more bulbs.` I dropped my plan to remove all the soil and line the box with plastic. The soil was soft and light and not hard and spent as I expected it to be. Maybe  not enough watering on my part was the only problem during the summer.

Pebbles and container.

Zivia Paper Whites. I've never grown them in something without support. I hope this works.

Just enough water but don't cover the pebbles or the bulbs may rot. Just want to encourage root growth. I read that alcohol keeps them from growing too tall and flopping. I don't drink so I don't have vodka which was recommended by some. I do have rubbing alcohol. I'll just add a little.

My mom gave these hyacinths to me last year. They were beautiful and I saved the bulbs below. She hated how they smell but she knew I loved the smell. I saved them but the squirlles bothered them all summer and more so since fall. Found them on the ground and brought them to the porch to see what happens to them since they seem to be trying to come up early. Looks like a squirlle has been eating the top of one.

Mom's amaryllis. I shook the soil off. The roots are real healthy. I'll let it dry out. I cut off all the foliage. Don't know if this is correct but they had been growing since this time last year. After a rest I'll try to take them out of dormancy.

The soil is till healthy. I removed a lot of last years bulbs and added Osmocote. Shade box.

The fern is still thriving. Hole dug and daffodils inserted.

Tulips, pointed end up.

Sun window box.

I actually kept the shrubs. I read that once the foliage is dead it doesn't come back. I will wait till spring to see if they can develop new growth.

Paper whites from Primex. They look so fresh and healthy. Next year, maybe only fresh unpacked bulbs. I can't wait to see how these perform versus the packaged ones. They were ninety-eight cents each, real solid and heavy. They are not zivia ones and supposedly have multi- blooms.

I'll plant these a little later so I can have paper whites for the next couple of months. From what I've read these type get planted in December and January.

New shrub for the yard.

Ornamental grass for the yard. Don't know how it'll do, but we'll see.

These are the tulips for the window boxes. I removed these from the sweet potato vines. Now how do I get new plants?