Monday, May 4, 2009

Deep Breaths. Deeeeep, Calming Breaths.

Tulips are one of my favorite flowers. I was so excited last fall when jrosey suggested a tulip bulb planting party at my house! I am pretty darn clueless when it comes to plants, planting, gardening, etc. I have no green thumb. I didn't know when to plant tulip bulbs so I jumped at the idea when jrosey suggested it. I went out and bought a bunch of bulbs and we got to work one sunny fall day. I went for another round of bulbs a week or so later when I found a great deal on bulbs at Costco. All together I think around 80 bulbs went in the ground.

Then I noticed that they were ending up on the deck. With teeth marks on them. Chey was digging them up. She was digging a lot of them up. I was finding them everywhere. I was really wondering how many I had left.

So then, finally, in the last month or so they've started poking up. There were still quite a few coming up. Oddly, the one place that Chey couldn't get to, the fenced in garden area that I thought was safe, there was not one single one. Zero. Zilch. Apparently, our moles took care of the ones that Chey couldn't get. Grrr!

I was still pretty excited about the ones that were coming up! Until I noticed that some of them were getting chewed up as they were coming up. I think slugs were getting to some of them, but as they were popping up Chey was finding the ones she missed and digging even more up.

She did leave some standing. I think I counted less then 20 actual heads that made it.

They were getting so close to blooming! I was checking them every day. Saturday they were just about there! Then Sunday I looked outside and found this...


All of the heads were popped right off of every single tulip in bloom. Except one. See all the leaves in the background? Total massacre.

I was going to give Chey the benefit of the doubt and was thinking well, maybe a deer happened to wander through or...something...


Then I found this...



One of the tulip heads with little Chey teeth marks in it sitting in one of her little spots that she likes to collect things in.


Deep breaths. I had to take lots of very deeeeeep, calming breaths.

Some day I'll have fun flowers in my yard. Some day.



3 comments:

Paint Girl said...

Oh no! Nothing like putting all that work into your yard, then to have your dog destroy it! I am glad mine don't eat flowers!

Jessica said...

Oh my gosh. I'm crying and laughing at the same time. Crying
'cause I feel your pain. I'll never forget the time in my old yard when a dear came and mowed down all my tulips RIGHT when they were getting ready to bloom. I seriously had tears come to my eyes that morning. Laughing 'cause Chey turned out to be your deer! Cracking up that the poor tulip head was discovered in her "boneyard". Oh, the humanity! Hmm...maybe next fall, we'll get some tulips planted in containers for ya. That'll teach her! ;) "She's lucky she's cute!"

Mom said...

Oh honey....I'm sooooo sorry! I am laughing sooooooooo darn hard though I could hardly catch my breath. You need to write a book about your lil dog. Too darn funny. I hope she moves past this bulb & flower fettish? Ha...Love you, Mom