Cold Climate Gardening

In September 2004 I planted 4 different Corydalis bulbs that I had ordered from Odyssey Bulbs. They promised to be exquisite, so I could hardly wait until spring, and started patroling the vicinity as soon as the snow had melted. I especially wanted to see Corydalis bracteata (not offered this year), which owner Russell Stafford described thus:

Take Corydalis solida, enlarge its flowers, color them a rich, buttery yellow, and increase its vigor, and you’ve got this lovely species.

Did I mention I love yellow in the spring? Tragically (this is a gardener speaking), I never got to see this wonderful plant. There was a vole tunnel going directly to the spot marked by the tag. Voles! I screamed internally. Why was there no mention of rodents in the catalog? I could have taken precautions! Having thus become attuned to the grave threat to all my corydalis darlings, I looked over the rest of the planting locations with trepidation. Phew. Everyone else seemed okay.

Popularity: 9% [?]

This is a photo of my beloved crocus bank. The driveway runs roughly east to west, downhill all the way. On the south side of the driveway, the lawn runs down fairly steeply to the driveway, forming a bank that I have planted quite densely with crocuses. The crocuses are just getting started, but it is obvious that depredations occurred over the winter under cover of snow. Voles. This bank faces north and, with snow shovelled off the driveway piled on it, is one of the last places to lose its snow cover. Although I have trouble with voles all over the property, they had never found the crocus bank before.

Popularity: 4% [?]