The daintiness and gaiety of the early spring flowering bulbs are a heartwarming sight following the dreary bleakness of winter.
Plan now to prepare your garden for its showing next spring.
Snowdrop
The first snowdrop (Galanthus) will open its frail-looking blossoms weeks before spring has arrived, and the perky winter aconite (Eranthis hyevialis) with golden blossoms framed in a green ruff is indeed a welcome sight.
The spring spectacle then runs the gamut of scillas, crocuses, chionodoxa, bulbous irises, puschkinia, grape hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips.
Spring Flowering Bulbs
Spring flowering bulbs are generally more attractive in informal settings, and any number can be naturalized for breathtaking displays.
Naturalizing means growing them successfully in locations where they fend for themselves and give the impression of being native.
Such plants require minimum care, with the only weeding being to prevent invasion by aggressive plants. Bulbs also have the advantage of increasing without overrunning anything.
Scillas, Chionodoxa, and Guinea-hen
The charming scillas, chionodoxa, and Guinea-hen (Fritillaria meleagris) flowers are not quite as showy as later bulbs. But masses planted along a path, in open woodland, and at the base of trees or shrubs are indeed beautiful.
Combining two or three kinds that complement one another produces delightful effects. For example, Virginia bluebells go well with the less showy Guinea-hen.
Small flowers and small plantings need trees, shrubs, or rocks to set them off to the best advantage. They should not be placed near vivid-flowered shrubs, which will overpower them.
Crocuses
The first crocuses of spring delight young and old. Their bright waxy golds, clean whites, rich purples, pretty stripes, and assorted shades give gaiety to any garden.
Plant them at the base of a tree, grouped at one corner of the lawn, or dribbled along the edge of a wood.
The blooming season may be prolonged by adding some species, such as C. susianus and Dalviaticus. Crocuses may be planted anywhere so long as their foliage is not cut.
Tulips
Wood hyacinths, dainty species of daffodils, and species of tulips lend interest to little nooks, at the foot of trees or shrubs, in rock gardens, and colonies along fences or walls.
Tulipa dasystemon and turkestanica are two fascinating species to use in natural settings.
Daffodils
Daffodils thrive in places later shaded by tree foliage and are especially suited to naturalizing because of their freedom from disease and long life.
For dramatic effects, plant them lavishly along a hillside, among scattered trees, in meadowlands, around rocks, and along streams and ponds.
Group daffodils in large drifts of one or two kinds rather than mixing several. Create a striking picture by blending them with grape hyacinths.
Flowering fruit trees make wonderful background accents for splashes of golden daffodils.
Some varieties of trumpet daffodils to naturalize are the following:
- Yellow-trumpeted white Music Hall
- Pale yellow and white Mrs. Krelage
- Lovely white Beersheba
There are showy large-cupped ones like:
- Scarlet Elegance, yellow with a scarlet cup
- White Dick Wellband with fiery red-orange cup
- Daisy Schaeffer, white with a large light yellow crown
- Bright small-cupped Queen of North, a yellow with a frilled cup, is also attractive.
Charming Narcissus triandrus and jonquilla hybrids like:
- Shot Silk, Thalia (both white), and Trivithian (yellow);
- Double cream-yellow Cheerfulness
- Orange-even Geranium and other cluster types;
- Poet’s narcissus Actaea, a pure white with the orange eye
- Old Pheasant’s Eye (recurvus) are all excellent for naturalizing
Some bulbs that bloom later may be planted for natural effects in moist, partly-shaded areas are—bis reticulata, alliums, and camassias.
Planting Spring Bulbs
Spring bulbs tolerate quite a bit of shade, flourishing more with filtered sunlight.
Although naturalized plantings are expected to maintain themselves, fertilizer applications every two years are beneficial, especially if plants must compete with tree roots.
When planting, the bulbs should be placed at the correct depth in deep fertile, well-drained soil. Foliage should not be removed until it has died.
Plant bulbs irregularly in swathes that avoid any semblance of pattern or strew them on the ground and set them where they fall. Open places should be left between drifts to accent them.
Images:
Scilla varieties add color all spring.
Green-tipped snowdrops bloom in January—Nature’s first hint of a colorful spring.
New crocus corms form above the old ones, so replant every few years for continuous color.
Brilliant blue clumps of grape hyacinth are splendid for naturalizing your garden—set them around the base of a large rock.
Hyacinths bordering your daffodil patch make a pleasing sight—a bright color combination to herald spring’s arrival.
44659 by Veronica M. Quist