Spring fever!
It’s your last chance to plant bulbs for spring, but don’t settle for the same old displays. Hazel Sillver has the ideas and inspiration you need to give your garden real wow factor
All gardeners love bulbs. These small brown packages are bombs of flowers that we plant in the autumn, to await an explosion of flowers come spring. And unless we mistakenly skewer them with the garden fork, they can remain there for many a year, quietly performing without any attention from us.
But perhaps you feel that your bulb display is lacking excitement; or maybe it has become sparse. November is the last opportunity to inject it with new verve before the ground hardens over winter. Planting a fresh array of bulbs now will ensure a glorious show of flowers in spring, and there are a number of approaches you can take.
New blood
Every autumn, breeders seek to tempt us with unusual varieties of familiar bulbs, so it’s well worth hunting out new additions to the market. This year, try tulips ‘Purple Doll’ and ‘Purple Dream’ – champagne flute slender, and beautiful alongside honesty (Lunaria annua) and the evergreen grass Carex dipsacea.
Seeking out something different will undoubtedly ensure that your garden stands out from the rest, but this does not have to mean plumping for a new launch. While grabbing a low-cost bag of modern hybrid daffs from the supermarket is easy, a little research will unearth treasures that have stood the test of time. For instance, there are heritage daffodils (such as ‘Bath’s Flame’) that dance on the breeze. Or what about petticoat dwarf species like Narcissus bulbocodium, which is spectacular when planted en masse.
You should also consider expanding your repertoire of bulbs, supplementing your usual tulips, daffodils and hyacinths with other spring flowerers. Consider graceful, cream-flowered Fritillaria
thunbergii – adorable, yet not widely known. Show it off by planting in semishade alongside white Narcissus ‘Thalia’.
Creative combinations
Thinking outside the colour box is another way to liven up spring borders. An injection of smouldering dark bulbs (such as Hyacinth orientalis ‘Woodstock’ and Alamy
Allium atropurpureum) will add drama and sophistication, while also creating focal points that draw the eye.
At RHS Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire the blackcurrant ‘Queen of Night’ tulip is grown with tangerine ‘Jan Reus’ for a fabulous colour clash, while this year’s RHS Malvern Spring Festival saw the orange tulip ‘Prinses Irene’ enhanced with a warm palette of amber and gold in the form of orange wallflowers, Heuchera ‘Marmalade’, Euphorbia griffithii ‘Dixter’, and evergreen grass Carex comans ‘Chocolate’. Simply gorgeous.
Plant now
Once you have decided on your display, don’t waste time. November is the ideal month to plant tulips, while other loose bulbs that flower in the second half of spring can also go in the ground now – crown imperials and alliums, for instance. Nor is it too late for bulbs that bloom earlier, such as crocus and winter iris, which can be bought ready-grown in containers, and planted out. Act soon and, come spring, your garden will be the envy of the neighbourhood.