We are discovering the many ways that plants enhance our
environment -- from cleaning the air to providing a psychological
lift after a dreary winter the way colorful, spring bulbs do. You
may have long wanted to plant bulbs, but were unsure how to
incorporate them into your landscape or garden. Since fall is the
time of year to plan or plant next year's bulb garden, here are
some tips to help you:
Tip:
Plant bulbs in clusters. Some gardeners tend to scatter
their plantings. A group of tulips planted together makes a bold,
spring statement.
Tip:
Read labels. Beginning gardeners often feel they don't know
enough to plan their gardens correctly. Whether you buy bulbs in
packets or loose from a bin, there are labels describing plant
heights and flowering times. Plant low plants toward the front of
the bed, taller plants in back. Mix early and late-flowering
bulbs. Your garden will be lovely all spring, and the
late-blooming plants will hide the spent foliage of the early
bloomers.
Tip:
Add a splash of color to a walkway or drive. Plant bulbs
around a lamp post, in wooded areas, or create a bed of your
favorite colors.
Tip:
Make more use of bulbs in the perennial border. Many
gardeners tend to isolate their bulbs from the rest of the
garden. Bulb flowers support, rather than dominate, perennials.
Tip:
Plan perennial borders to reach their flowery climax in
either mid- or late-summer. Perennial borders that bloom
brilliantly only once per season look dull the rest of the year.
Use bulbs to spice up the border in spring and fall. For example,
use small groupings of soft-yellow daffodils planted near Hosta
sieboldiana. This scheme creates a lovely effect, and as the
foliage of the hosta grows and thickens, it hides the leaves of
the spent daffodils.
Tip:
Leave hyacinths in the ground to flower next year, rather
than removing them as you would annuals. After a few years, the
hyacinths you get may not be as lush as they were the first -- at
that time replant with new bulbs. Hyacinths are particularly
appealing planted among soil-covering plants, such as common
periwinkle (Vinca minor)and ivy (Hedera helix).
Tip:
If you have a flowerless June garden, plant alliums. Allium
moly, for example, is an excellent choice to flower in the June
garden, that transitional period between spring and summer
flowering.
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