Bloomin’ Bucks! Buy bulbs, rhizomes and other plants here…BloominBucks.com

Arizona Federation of Garden Clubs (AFGC) has registered for a perpetual fundraising shopping experience. It is easier than ever to show your support by doing what you normally do – buy garden supplies and plants. The host company is named Brent and Becky’s Bulbs; their online store offers high-quality bulbs of all kinds, tropicals, perennials, annuals, supplements, books and gifts. They now offer a 25% payback to qualified non-profit organizations as a year-around fundraiser. By purchasing online through Bloomin’ Bucks, you are helping AFGC to build stronger infrastructure and web-based tools to support your local federated garden clubs and plant societies in Arizona.

Fall Planting Bulbs for Early Spring Blooming

You can grow bulbs in Arizona; it’s actually not that hard if you follow a few simple planting tips. Fall planting bulbs are usually put into soil during late October through November but some lower elevations may plant into January. The best time to plant is when daytime temperatures are consistently lower than 60F. Planting in soil that is too warm will lead to rot, premature growth or poor root systems. Most fall planting bulbs require consistent cooler temperatures in order to produce a flower bud. Without that chill time, the bulb may grow green stalks without producing flowers. And hey, isn’t that why we plant bulbs in the first place.

Fall planting bulbs will need to be located someplace that gets full sun for spring blooms. Prepare the planting bed with 50-50 native soil and mushroom compost; do not plant in clay or caliche. Make sure the planting bed or containers drain well so there is never standing water around the bulbs. Plant bulbs shallow and leave a good 12 inches between bulbs. Bulbs are heavy feeders so prepare a rich soil and plan to fertilize every 2 weeks after new growth appears, usually in January. Water should be applied to the soil, not the plant; ollas or drip irrigation work really well for this reason.

Shop online at BloominBucks.com

What can you expect? I went shopping online to see for myself.

First of all, you have to select the organization from a drop-down to make sure that your order is credited towards our group. Click the drop-down arrow in the middle of the webpage and scroll down to “Arizona Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc.”; choose that and then click the green “GO” button to get to the online shopping website.

The homepage for Brent and Becky’s is very colorful with so much to choose from. I spent a lot of time just browsing around and daydreaming about the pretty flowers. Of course, these photos are taken in Virginia not Arizona, so their presentation is way different from our desert landscape design goals. Still, a gardener dreams big!

When I was finally ready to shop for my desert garden, I chose to use their “Advanced Search”. The filters will pare down appropriate plant options for “Winter Hardiness Zone”, “Bloomtime”, “Sun”, “Moisture” and “Uses”. Optional filters are available for genus, height and colors. I live in Tucson, so I set my filters to hardiness zone 9, bloom times for springtime, full & part sun, dry moisture and uses of containers and rock gardens. Because I am adding to an existing back porch area, I further filtered on 3 colors – orange, blue and purple. The search resulted in 3 fall planting bulbs: Corydalis, Crocus-Spring and Tulipa. I placed an order for 45 bulbs in total. The ordering process was straightforward and shipping cost was normal. The bottom of the invoice clearly states that my purchase supports AFGC. The website calculated that the proper shipping date will be in mid-October, and I won’t have to pay until then. Oh, the anticipation…

Final Thoughts About Ordering

It is important to note that you cannot utilize other discounts when participating in this fundraiser. Any items on sale or clearance would not be credited towards the payback. I’m not saying don’t buy sales items; just know that choosing to participate in the fundraiser will require that you shop at regular pricing.

Also, if you place your order after October 25th, the shipping cost may be higher because the bulbs have to be express shipped to avoid freezing temperatures enroute to Arizona. This is the case for any state that is west of the Rocky Mountains. Shipments to Hawaii and Alaska are always sent expressed shipping.

Tell Your Friends and Family to Buy through BloominBucks.com

We all love to talk gardening. It’s what we do. So now we can share the opportunity to shop online for a good cause. Brent and Becky’s Bulbs can ship anywhere in the United States.

May your gardens always be in bloom!

By Jennifer Moreland

Jennifer is a member of Tucson Garden Club serving as Club President 2023-25; is AFGC President-Elect 2023-25; and is Pacific Region Invasive Weeds Chairman and co-Chairman of Convention 2025.

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