I Never Would Have Guessed

I've always wanted to plant bulbs but because there seems to be an endless amount of rabbits and squirrels in my backyard it has been pointless.  The bulbs I have planted in past years were just a smorgasbord of tasty delights for the critters that wandered my garden.

Until now!  Last fall I thought I would give it another shot and bought some allium bulbs.  Alliums are part of the onion family and have these huge, happy purple balls on top of their straight stalks. 

This past fall I did something different and a little odd to my bulbs that I had heard would absolutely keep the squirrels away. Prior to planting the bulbs, I got a dab of petroleum jelly (Vaseline) on my finger and put it around  the bulb.  I didn't get any  of the jelly on the top or the bottom of the bulb. Then I planted my bulbs; (alliums like to be planted about three times the diameter of the bulb).  Our spring has not sprung yet, but the allium bulbs are all coming up and I haven't lost a single one to the squirrels.

I can only assume that this will work for all bulbs that are planted, but can't say for sure since I didn't plant anything else other than the alliums.  I am, however, thrilled that this petroleum jelly thing seems to have worked famously well!