bulbs

Each year millions of Easter lilies are forced in greenhouses so that they bloom early to meet the retail demands of the Easter season. This is obviously hard on the lily, so the plant won't bloom again that summer at its normal summer bloom time.

Fall is a great time to collect the seed pods from shrubs like baptisia and hardy hibiscus and store them in paper envelopes indoors until next spring.

If you want something in bloom all through the growing seasons in your garden, check that you have these plants.

I pick Amaryllis belladonna for my vases and pair them with dark red coleus or maroon opal basil. They look stunning and last a long time indoors.

The Star of Bethlehem name probably dates from the Crusades. The bulbs were brought home as souvenirs when ancient people made pilgrimages to the Holy Land. So, this sweet little flower has an impressive history.

After the spring bloomers' flowers faded, I used to have day lily plants that grew up in my beds to disguise the decaying and unsightly bulb foliage. All that changed once the deer in my neighborhood came by in droves and ate all of the day lily foliage.

Crocus sativus' stamens are the source of saffron. Henry I of England was so fond of saffron as a spice in food that he forebade ladies in his court from using it as a hair lightener.

There are only a few perennials that thrive for many years without being divided and replanted.

Amaryllis bulbs can be rebuilt so that they can bloom well the following winter indoors.

My garden is very crowded, and so in the fall, I am always wondering where I can plant more spring bulbs without cutting into the existing ones.