If for no other reason, gardeners look forward to the fall season because it is bulb planting time.
Somehow, a keen sense of pleasure comes from carefully placing the bulbs in the warm, moist earth to root and sleep through the long cold months.
But as we plant, we dream up pictures of how these bulbs will look when in bloom, either by themselves or in combination with other plants that flower simultaneously.
Selecting The Best Bulbs
When selecting bulbs for your garden, plan for the miniature, the big-scale kinds, the early flowering, and the late.
Thus you can enjoy a picture that will start with the first Eranthis or snowdrops and finish with the last of the tulips, not to mention the many kinds of lilies that flower from early summer through the late fall.
The earliest to bloom usually give us the greatest thrill simply because they are the first.
Eranthis “Winter Aconite”
With its cheery yellow cups, Eranthis or winter aconite often starts the season off, followed by snowdrops and crocus.
These little bulbs look most effective when planted in groups or colonies where they are allowed to multiply and naturalize.
Early Flowering Trees Or Shrubs
Early flowering trees or shrubs include:
- Cornelian cherry
- Chinese witch-hazel
- Corylopsis
- Winter honeysuckle
- February daphne
These early flowering trees or shrubs can be underplanted with the following:
- Snowdrops
- Crocus
- Scillas
- Chionodoxa
- Grape hyacinths
- Snowflakes
- Dutch hyacinths
- Puschkinias
- Early daffodils and tulips
As the season progresses, allow for the showier and larger flowering bulbs, the many kinds of daffodil and tulip species, the large flowering daffodils, and the so-called stately May tulips, the fritillarias, Dutch iris, and lilies in a variety for even later bloom.
Finding Suitable Locations
Finding suitable locations for these bulbs calls for careful planning beforehand.
The species daffodils and tulips are appropriate in rock gardens where they will keep the company of the following:
- Arabis
- Gold dust alyssum
- Aubrieta
- Arenaria
- Primroses
- Other early flowering rock plants
In flower borders, daffodils and tulips, which flower later combine harmoniously with:
- Bleeding heart
- Doronicum
- Blue phlox
- Pansies
- Hardy candytufts
- Early iris
- Virginia bluebells
- Forget-me-nots
The various bulbs are also ideal for combining with flowering trees and shrubs.
Have you ever tried planting white and gold daffodils around a particularly attractive specimen of forsythia?
Then, did you ever consider placing a clump of tall red or rose-colored tulips in front of a white azalea?
And how about pink tulips and a lavender azalea underneath the canopy of a white-flowering dogwood?
Simple Planting Rules
The planting rules for bulbs are basically simple.
A sunny location and soil that provides good drainage are necessary for all.
If you are working with soil that tends to be heavy, lighten it with sand, peat moss, or sawdust.
Mixing a handful of sand with the bulb’s soil works out just as well.
Although planting depth varies with the bulb, a general rule to remember is to cover bulbs with soil equal to two or three times the bulb’s diameter.
Mulching after the ground freezes is advisable, and then all you have to do is to wait for the warmth of sun and rain to unfold the magic that will reward you many times the effort and expense you put into it this fall.
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