Stealth Gardening

I just realized that it's getting time to buy bulbs for spring flowering. The rules at our townhouse prohibit planting stuff in the small space in the back and the one in the front. They have planted these ugly shrubs and used the mulch that means that we did something really bad in our previous life- beauty bark.


That stuff is nasty. If you don't know what it is, it's chunks of cedar bark, a by-product of logging. I'll give that it looks nice at first- all woody and red-brown. Then it starts to fade, and now it just looks like dried-out crap. It is terrible to work with; I don't know how many invisible splinters I have gotten.
Anyway, I have planted some pots, but it just isn't the same as having a garden. That is truly the one thing I miss from having a house. B and I have decided to "Bend the Rules," and plant tulip and daffodil bulbs. We're pretty sure that we'll have to do it late at night. We'll rake up the beauty bark, find the soil, which will probably be mostly clay. Then we'll add good soil, get those bulbs stuffed down there, and add bulb food. Return the beauty bark, and no-one will know until the flowers pop up. Won't they be surprised!