My Messy First Try Last Year
So, I really wanted these “world peace” tulips. Sounds fancy, right? I saw pictures online – beautiful white and red streaks. Total beginner me grabbed some bulbs from a random garden store, rushed home, and just kinda shoved them into my backyard dirt in December.
Complete disaster.
- Squirrels dug half of them up by January.
- Most that weren’t stolen didn’t even sprout green bits in spring.
- The one sad plant that showed up just flopped over and died. Pathetic.
Felt like I burned money and wasted time. Not peaceful at all!
Learning From My Epic Fail
This spring, I actually got smart. Did some reading. Turns out, I did almost everything wrong.
Big mistakes:
- Planting way too late. Need to be before real winter hits.
- Didn’t check the dirt at all. My backyard mud sucks – way too heavy.
- Zero squirrel defenses.
Okay, time for Round 2. Got more bulbs, but this time I went cheap. Grocery store bulbs, why not?
The Real Simple Way I Did It This Time
Fine, let’s try this “step by step for beginners” thing properly. Here’s what I actually did this October:
- Got the dirt ready. Went out one Saturday morning. Found a spot near my fence that gets sun. Dug down about 10 inches. Mixed in a whole bag of cheap compost from the store right into my lousy backyard dirt. Made it feel way lighter and less soggy. Took me maybe 30 minutes.
- Planted the bulbs. Went back out after lunch. Pointy end up! Duh. I pushed them down about 6 inches deep. Didn’t measure precisely, just a bit deeper than my hand span. Left about 4 inches between each bulb. Threw the dug-out dirt back over them. Gave the spot a heavy watering right away.
- Squirrel War. These furry jerks ruined my first batch. Went inside, grabbed a bunch of old chicken wire. Just laid it flat right over the whole planting area. Pushed it down a little and weighed it with some random rocks from the yard. Cheap and easy.
- Left it alone. Honestly, hardest part. Didn’t dig them up to check. Didn’t water again. Just… waited.
Spring Surprise!
Forgot about them over winter. Seriously. Busy with other stuff.
Then, mid-April this year, saw green shoots poking up! Nearly screamed. Checked the spot – about 7 strong-looking plants coming up. Carefully pulled the chicken wire off.
Just kept watering whenever the dirt felt dry like sand. Watched them get taller and taller. Buds formed! Late April, BOOM. Opened up into these amazing white flowers with bright red streaks. Felt like a miracle. Took pictures like a proud plant dad.
Why “World Peace” Makes Sense
Honestly? It’s less about the flower itself and more about actually doing it.
Saw those tulips bloom. Pure, simple, quiet beauty in my messy yard. Standing there looking at them? Calm just washed over me. Felt real peaceful in that tiny moment. Felt proud I didn’t give up.
So yeah, growing them isn’t solving wars. But putting a tiny beautiful thing into the world, caring for it simply, and seeing it succeed? Feels like adding a tiny, real piece of peace back into life. Start small. Start simple.
Can’t wait to do it again this fall, even more bulbs this time. Maybe name them this time. “Warren the Peace Tulip,” anyone?
