“I grow plants for many reasons: to please my eye or to please my soul, to challenge the elements or challenge my patience, for novelty or for nostalgia, but mostly for the joy in seeing them grow. ” — David Hobson

One of the most fun and rewarding outcomes of making my life changing move from Manhattan magazine girl to country wife is my acquired passion for gardening. I am constantly plotting, planning, and planting at our Water Mill farmhouse. Now that I have a couple years under my gardening belt, I am learning how to work on certain projects a season in advance ~ and right now my focus is on bulbs. Beautiful hyacinths, daffodils, amaryllis, and ranunculus are the prettiest spring flowers and creating pretty pastel pots is my favorite Easter planting project.

Buying fully bloomed bulbs can get pretty pricey at our local nurseries [which I did last spring, below] , so the best thing to do is buy your favorites bulbs now, plant them by the end of October, and come spring time you will have a garden full of fragrant fantastic flowers! Lynch’s Garden Center in Southampton has the biggest and best selection of bulbs [pictured below] so get your green thumb in gear and start planting this weekend….

Lynch’s Garden Center location: 175 N Sea Rd, Southampton; (631) 283-5515

Once my bulbs begin to bloom in the spring I will replant them into our pots again…