It sounds very well to garden a "natural way." You may see the natural way in any desert, any swamp, any leech-filled laurel hell. Defiance, on the other hand, is what makes gardeners.
Henry Mitchell
Washinton Post, Earthman
Our oldest lily bed has been looking a bit ragged, so the other day I dug it up. I was surprised how many layers of bulbs I found under there-- it was like archeology. Not just lilies but alliums, tulips and scillia. That's what happens when you plant bulbs on top of bulbs for 30 years. Some of the lilies had petered out, but others just needed dividing so I salvaged about 20 big healthy ones and got them back in the ground.
Yesterday I went out to plant a few more tulips, and there were the lilies on top of the ground. Some squirrel had gone to the trouble of digging out the biggest ones. They probably tasted bad or he would have chewed them up. I guess squirrels search for freshly-dug soil as they nose around, or they're attracted by planting "debris" like scented bits from bulb bags. Having all the time in the world for mischief, they dig down to take a look. Some people resort to putting chicken wire over their bulb beds, which sounds like a lot of trouble.
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