I’m like a kid in sweet shop at this time of year. It’s spring bulb time! It may seem counter intuitive to be thinking about spring when we’ve only just embarked upon autumn, but now is the perfect time to get the pick of all the different bulbs on offer.
Bulb displays form two distinct categories: those that you plant in the ground and those that form container displays.
Flourishing spring flower containers
When we think containers we generally think daffodils and tulips. In recent years it has become very fashionable to plant what is quaintly known as a bulb lasagne. That is, to plant layers of bulbs in containers, to produce a succession of flowers from February through to May.
Your bottom layer is traditionally tulips, as they flower the latest, usually April and May, followed by a layer of March flowering narcissi, then iris reticulata which flower as early as February. Thing is, horticultural best practice advises against planting tulips until November or December – they are prone to a fungal disease called tulip fire if planted when the weather is still mild. But if you want your narcissi and iris displays to flower as early as possible, they are best planted in September and October, so how can the tulips be planted on the bottom? You see the dilemma. In fact, you can still plant them all in November, it just means that your displays will bloom slightly later.
So, you go along to the garden centre, and you see before you a colour coordinated sea of bulbs of every description.
Where to start? Follow my advice and you won’t go wrong. Choose iris reticulata or crocus, and multiheaded, fragrant narcissi. Iris and crocus come into flower in February and as they fade, the narcissi will start to bloom from March to April.
You can’t go wrong with dwarf yellow narcissi Tete a Tete, one of the earliest to flower, February to March. If you plant them as deep as you can, they can stay in situe to flower year after year. I wouldn’t be without dainty primrose yellow Minnow, followed by a layer of fragrant, multiheaded Avalanche, which flower in March to April. Oh, and narcissus Pheasant’s Eye, with its pure white petals surrounding a red tipped yellow centre. So many, so many! Buy in quantity. Iris and crocus bulbs are small so you could easily plant 20 in one layer. Narcissi tend to come in packs of 4 or 5 so you would need a couple of packets per layer. You can plant three or four layers depending on the depth of your pot.
Here’s How It’s Done
Go big for maximum impact. Choose at least a 30 cm diameter pot with a drainage hole in the base. Lift your pot into its final position before you fill it up and place pot feet underneath to allow water to drain away. Place a piece of broken crock over the hole, then fill a 10 cm base layer of peat free multipurpose compost mixed with half as much horticultural grit. Place the bulbs pointy side up, quite close to each other but not touching, then cover with a 5 cm layer of compost mix. Arrange another layer of bulbs, followed by 5 cm layer of compost, and so on, until you are about 15 cms from the rim. Top fill with compost mix to about 3 cm from the rim of the pot. You can plant pansies or violas for winter colour or simply spread a 1 cm layer of horticultural grit over the top. If you are troubled by squirrels, secure a piece of wire mesh on the top of the compost before applying the grit to stop them digging the bulbs out. A word to the wise: squirrels just love tulip bulbs! Finally, water well – maybe a sprinkle of water occasionally if it’s very dry – and your patience will be rewarded with colour and fragrance during the bleakest time of year.
I rather fancy hyacinths this winter. Not the forced ’prepared’ type that you plant indoors. Hyacinths flower March to April so I wouldn’t necessarily plant them with narcissi as they will clash. Why not instead combine them with April May flowering tulips for a Spring showstopper. November planting allows plenty of time to flower on schedule.
Some of the best spring bulb displays can be seen at East Ruston Old Vicarage in Norfolk around Easter time, well worth a visit. Tulips in such vast quantity they must surely be seen on Google Earth!
Back in the day, bulbs would be discarded after flowering but in the spirit of sustainability, it’s better to reuse them if you can. If your containers are very large, you can leave the bulbs in and simply plant your summer bedding displays on top. Alternatively, you can relocate the bulbs, leaves still intact, to a temporary pot, out of your sightline. Once they’ve died down, the bulbs can be brushed off and stored in a paper bag in a cool, dry, dark place until next autumn when you can replant them. But perhaps the best option is to replant them in your borders or lawn, or perhaps donate them to your local community garden.
In all instances, resist the urge to cut the leaves off before they have faded. It’s essential to let the foliage die back naturally. Their leaves should be left in place, ideally for up to 6 weeks after flowering, so they can carry on feeding the bulbs and recharge the energy store for next year.
In my experience neither iris reticulata nor tulips flower reliably the following year, so add them to your compost heap or council garden waste bin. Spread the spent compost from your containers on your borders as a mulch.
Bulbify your garden’s borders
Planting bulbs in your borders and lawns is a more permanent way to enjoy the glory of spring flowering bulbs. Bulbs will provide colour and ground cover in areas of your garden where no other plant will thrive, such as under a tree, the base of a hedge or on a slope. Most obvious and one of the earliest to flower, in January, is the snowdrop. I would however avoid buying snowdrop bulbs. Unlike many bulbous plants, snowdrops don’t like to dry out so buy them ‘in the green’ which simply means planting them shortly after flowering while they still have their leaves, around February time. Buy these mail order from specialist growers, such as Ashwood Nurseries.
For some of the most dazzling displays, pay a visit to Acorn Bank in Cumbria; Anglesey Abbey in Cambridgeshire; Welford Park in Berkshire or Plas yn Rhiw in Wales from January to early March.
For autumn planting in borders and lawns, go for winter aconites, scilla, chionodoxa, grape hyacinths, crocus and of course, daffodils, as many as you can, and they will reward you by spreading or ‘naturalising’ year on year. Visit Borde Hill in West Sussex or Batsford Arboretum in the Cotswolds to see a Host of Daffodils.
There’s nothing quite so quintessentially English as a bluebell wood. Bluebells are ideal for a woodland garden or naturalising in informal areas of grass and will multiply each year to form a dense carpet of blue in April and May. But be sure to buy English bluebells, with their slender stems and lightly fragranced, gently arching, blue flowers. Avoid Spanish or hybrid bluebells, altogether a more vigorous, invasive species, which will outcompete our native bluebell, and ultimately take over. Some of the best bluebell woods are Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire, Rannerdale Valley in the Lake District, and Long Wood, Somerset.
There are numerous planting tools available on the market, from wooden dibbers to metal bulb planters, but before you purchase, consider the type of soil you have. If you garden on heavy clay, your earth is likely to be dry and rock hard, rendering these tools ineffectual. Best to use a spade instead. Dig the blade into the earth to about 10-15 cm depth, then wiggle it back and forth until you have a narrow trench. Incorporate some horticultural grit. Throw in a handful of bulbs. Fill the trench with compost. Tamp the earth back down with your heal. Repeat. To get a natural look, scatter the bulbs over the planting site and plant them where they fall. After flowering, avoid mowing the area until the foliage has turned yellow.
But perhaps one of the greatest advantages of growing spring flowering bulbs is that you are supporting biodiversity. By planting bulbs in your borders and containers you are creating a vital and reliable food source for bees and other pollinating insects as they emerge in early spring, when other flowers are scarce.
