We Love Above the Cloud Tulip Blend

In the fall, after the hard garden labors of the season are coming to an end, it is easy to forgo bulb planting. And then you see this: Colorblends’ new Above the Cloud tulip combination and immediately set out to find planting spaces in the garden. Planted en masse, this blend is simply stunning. Shorter white tulips create a cloud effect over which tall cup-shape tulips in red and gold appear to be suspended in air.

Height: 16–22 inches
Sunlight: Full
Bulb Size: 12cm+
Soil: Well drained
Bloom Time: Mid-spring
Depth: 5 inches
USDA Zones: 3–7 (pre-chill 7b–10)
Density: 5 per sq. ft.

BONUS: Once you start envisioning how beautiful your garden will look next spring with a fresh flush of tulips in bloom, you will want more. So do we! We are also falling hard for Colorblends’ Ala Ska blend for its over-the-top color that is most welcome after months of brown-, gray- or white-saturated gardens.

Ala Ska has purple double-petal tulips coupled with white and pink semi-double flowers to form an intense carpet of color. It is punctuated with purple lily-flower tulips that are kissed with white at the base.

Tulip Tips: Deer love tulips, there is no doubt about it. This may account for the increasing popularity of container-grown tulips. But take heed: Deer will venture onto decks and patios. Our best advice? Treat both the gardens and containers with deer repellant, available in countless store-bought varieties and just as many home brews. It is wise to take steps to protect your bulbs from grazing deer.

What has worked for us:

Milorganite. I scatter this generously throughout the gardens. It is not marketed as a deer repellent, but as a natural fertilizer, yet it will deter deer.

Home brews. Simple is best. I mix several eggs in a 5-gallon bucket of water, let it sit in the sun, then sprinkle lightly around the gardens. It does have a nasty small, no other way to describe it, but it works for me.

Do you have a recipe for deer repellent? We would love to hear it!