Bulbs will be Available for Pickup in time for Fall Planting

Area gardeners looking to bring colorful blooms to their gardens next year will want to check out the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley (MSV) Online Spring Bulb Sale.

Beginning July 24 and running through August 7, a selection of bulbs frequently planted in the Museum’s formal gardens will be available for purchase at www.themsv.org/bulbsale23. Bulbs will arrive in time for fall planting and will be available for pick up at the MSV from November 7 through November 12.

According to Perry Mathewes, MSV director of gardens and deputy director of museum operations, the online sale features 14 varieties of bulbs. “We’ve expanded our offerings this year, combining many tried and true performers in the MSV landscape with more unusual bulbs that add excitement to spring gardens,” says Mathewes. New offerings include the diminutive but very fragrant canaliculatus daffodil, the red-and-white peppermint stick species tulip, and yellow crown imperial—a showy plant with yellow, bell-shaped hanging blooms “crowned” with spiky green foliage.

Many of the plants included in the sale may be found in the MSV gardens and the selection includes early, mid-, and late-spring flowering bulbs. In addition to the bulbs new to the sale, varieties available include netted iris, snow crocus, pagoda trout lily, guinea hen flower, snowflake, the Carlton daffodil, Maureen tulip, Spanish bluebells, purple sensation allium, and camass. Returning by popular demand after a hiatus in last year’s sale is the Angelique tulip, a pink, peony-shaped tulip that should bloom around Apple Blossom season.

A catalogue detailing the characteristics of each spring-flowering bulb is available to download at www.theMSV.org/BulbSale23 and shoppers are invited to email questions to gardener@theMSV.org.

Bulbs may only be purchased online via credit card (no on-site cash transactions) and bulbs must be picked up at the MSV (shipping not available).

Proceeds from the Spring Bulb Sale benefit the maintenance of the MSV gardens. MSV Members receive a 10% discount on bulb sale purchases. Those interested in joining the MSV may do so at www.theMSV.org/join.

A regional cultural center, the MSV is located at 901 Amherst Street in Winchester, Virginia. The MSV includes a galleries building that presents permanent and rotating exhibitions, the Glen Burnie House, seven acres of formal gardens, and The Trails at the MSV, a free-admission art park open daily from 7 a.m. to dusk. The galleries are open year-round, and the house and gardens are open April through December. Additional details are available at www.theMSV.org or by calling 540-662-1473, ext. 235.