It's bulb planting time.

Went to the Veseys warehouse sale last week. All bulbs were $2 per bag (except the really big ones, which were $4), and there were perennials (also $2) too. I spent $44, so now I have a huge task ahead, to get them all in before the ground freezes.
Some of the perennials are pretty spectacular: Peonies "Santa Fe", "Barrington Belle", and "Callie's Memory", Iris, petrovska, papaver "Harlem", as well as bulbs alliums, fritillaries, crocus, daffodils and tulips. I'm leaving the tulips until the end.
A gardening friend had told me about the sale, but I didn't really believe how amazingly cheap everything would be, so I didn't plan ahead and prepare planting areas. Suffering for that now, but next spring should be spectacular if even half of the things survive. And next year, I shall be prepared.

The Weather's Turning

          The return to standard time and the arrival of November has ended our long warm autumn, and we've had quite a bit of rain and wind to herald the coming winter. Brrr!! But I still have many bulbs to plant, and while there have been a couple of light frosts the ground is still unfrozen, so I hope that the tulips are still going to get into the ground. I'm just not sure where...

        We didn't have a bonfire for Guy Fawkes, because of the wind and the wet, but we certainly did have costumes. Here is Kate, channeling the late Queen Bess, complete with farthingale and ladies' maid, Joyce. 
        We were certainly blown away by the ingenuity of our friends, who dressed everywhere from Elizabethan to the present day! (Of course Guy Fawkes has been celebrated all through the centuries, so anything would be appropriate!)

      Our friends Anita and Trish came along in their Jane Austin outfits, with Hallowe'en accessories. Luckily these dresses are quite dance-friendly. Others had to doff their outfits later when the dancing commenced. 


    

     The gents looked quite well too, and Bruce in tights was a revelation. We all thought he should dress this way all the time.Don't know how they would take it at the office, however.