Everyone in the world seems to be reading Marie Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Its de-cluttering message has almost certainly gladdened the hearts and fattened the inventories of recyclers, thrift shop owners and second hand book dealers from Memphis to Mumbai. I read it over the summer and it made me think seriously about my habit of hanging on to things that no longer matter. Though “tidying up” is at the heart of Kondo’s book, the larger message is about happiness. By giving or throwing away anything that doesn’t bring you joy, you free up not only your living space but you psyche. This is very appealing, as I am afflicted with an overflowing house and a cluttered psyche.
Now, as I start the annual fall bulb order, I think about the choices that will bring joy to my garden. I have come face to face with the idea that my landscape could use a little of the author’s “KonMari” tidying up method. When fall clean-up gets underway, I will be more mindful of which plants “spark joy’ and make an effort to grub out those that don’t. That includes marginal plants that I have kept on tending, despite the fact that they are either poorly sited or just not disposed to thrive in my particular location.
Clean-up hasn’t really started yet, but it is time to get the bulb orders in while there is still a decent selection. Using joy as a rationale for my choices, I turn first to plants that have worked exceptionally well in the past. The little iris, ‘Katherine Hodgkin’, at four inches tall, with aquamarine petals, accented with yellow blotches and dark stripes and speckles, is at the top of the list. Seeing a single ‘Katherine’ in a garden is a revelation, but it really takes many more to create an inspiring effect. Fortunately, the bulbs are sufficiently cheap that even I can make a splashy show with them. I’ll order fifty.
Blues and yellows make my heart sing, as do hyacinths. ‘City of Haarlem’ is a soft yellow-flowered variety from 1893 that is still in commerce. I think I’ll pair it with ‘Grand Monarque’, an even older—1863—variety with lush, medium blue flowerheads. I’ll get three of each and plant them in the new blue and yellow-themed garden area, carved out of a spot that formerly housed a dowdy yew that gave me absolutely no joy. The hyacinths will also be close to a path, so the joy of their fragrance will not be lost on garden visitors.
Tulips are a conundrum. They definitely give me joy, except when they are eaten by Mr. Antlers and his family, which gives me misery. I spray them with deer repellent, of course, but sometimes that is not enough. The only solution is to grow them in pots on my porch. Even the tallest, most nimble deer can’t climb up a full flight of steps—I hope—so I can enjoy my tulips without worry. A friend always gets a blue and white tulip mix, which I love. Since she is not buying it this year, I will do so, mixing blue-purple tulips with white ones, like the purple-flamed ‘Insulide’ and lily-flowered ‘White Triumphator’, both of which are late bloomers. ‘Black Parrot’, which is actually darkest purple, is another compatible late bloomer.
My many existing daffodils give me joy as well, but a good number of the clumps still need dividing to keep the joy going. I vowed to do this last spring, but events intervened, keeping me from going to work with the spade and garden knife. Dividing in the fall is harder, because you have to locate the clumps, but I might actually get the chore done in the next few weeks. In the meantime, I’ll order my favorite daffodil, ‘Beersheeba’ which is the most elegant bloomer, with an elongated ivory trumpet surrounded by petals of the same shade. It also makes a great cut flower. I also love ‘Daphne’, a fragrant double “pheasant eye”-type that is positively frilly-looking.
Of course, amassing additional bulbs seems contrary to Marie Kondo’s “less is more” philosophy. However, once the bulb orders are in, I’ll also have an added impetus to do lots of garden tidying in the weeks before the bulbs arrive. Some things, like rambunctious tansy, thuggish English ivy and similar weak or ill-bred plants are going to go, leaving empty spaces in their wake. As everyone knows, there is nothing that sparks joy in a gardener’s heart like empty space and a few dollars in the checking account.
Find a wonderful assortment of joy-inducing heirloom bulb varieties at Old House Gardens, 536 Third St., Ann Arbor, MI 48103, (734) 995-1486, www.oldhousegardens.com. Catalog $2.00. More joy is available from John Scheepers, 23 Tulip Drive, P.O. Box 638, Bantam, CT 06750, (860) 567-5323. Free catalog.