There is something wonderful about planting spring flowering bulbs. It somehow makes the thought of winter arriving just a little bit more palatable. Read on for some design tips to ensure your spring garden is a showstopper.
At the end of a long winter, gardeners crave a little bit of colour. Try tucking spring flowering bulbs in amongst your shrubs and perennials to give a spot of brilliant colour. Try to create more emphasis by grouping bulbs together in these areas that have bigger flowers so they really stand out from the spring leafy growth.
With bulbs, there is power in numbers. Group as many bulbs together that are of similar colour and shape to have the most emphasis possible. Great swaths of colour will create the most stunning effects and be sure to bring you and your neighbours great pleasure.
Learn about what you are planting and try to create good colour combinations for the season of bloom. Some bulbs will bloom early, some late and, depending on the spring weather, will create an evolution of bloom. With Mother Nature you can never go wrong in combining different colour combinations, but we all have our preferences as to what colour combinations we resonate with.
With bulbs, size really matters in the size of the bulb and the groupings you create. Go as big and bold as you can, as masses of colours speak volumes. The only challenge with big areas is the time it takes for the foliage to fade and feed the bulb for next season. If you plant diagonally, then other perennials growing around your spring feast will help to hide the foliage that is less attractive.
Try combining bulbs with early blooming perennials. Combinations of perennial alyssum or rock cress will really make your spring garden exceptional. Challenge your design techniques to find combinations that you and your family will enjoy.
Even though we plant bulbs for the bloom colour there are many different cultivars that have beautiful foliage as well. Try out a couple of tulips with interesting foliage like Unicum, Red Riding Hood or New Design.
Often, spring on the prairies is rather short from a time perspective, but sometimes we get a longer spring that allows us to really experiment with different varieties and cultivars. For example, try some early flowering spring species tulips, followed by early spring bloomers (are usually shorter in stature too), mid-spring bloomers and then finally late-spring bloomers. One spring I was away for a month leading a garden tour and when I left, my first species tulips were blooming and when I got back a month later, I still was able to enjoy my late-spring tulips. Now that was a spring to remember!
Last but not least for those perennials in your garden that are a bit slow to get going in spring, interplant some early spring bulbs to jazz up the area. After all, the best designers will use colour for as long a season as possible while still filling in all those areas that need a bit more help.
Plant now for spring!
Hanbidge is a horticulturist with the Saskatoon School of Horticulture and can be reached at 306-931-GROW(4769); by email at growyourfuture@gmail.com or check out our website at www.saskhort.com.
