Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
High-energy bulbs
Want something to look forward to through the long winter ahead? Plant now and you’ll be greeted by a blaze of spring colour
As another long British winter begins, it’s the thought of those first spring flowers pushing up through the ground that gives us something to look forward to – and hope for a fine summer to come.
So if you want this feeling in your own garden next spring, now’s the time to get planting.
Getting bulbs into the ground now gives them a chance to charge over winter, ready to burst into spectacular colour in the new year.
Plant the right mixture and you could be looking at a kaleidoscope of colour from January all the way through to June.
And, of course, they’ll be back every year, growing and multiplying with each passing season.
So effort now means beautiful blooms for ages to come.
Flowering times
Spring bulbs have a range of flowering times. You can choose bulbs with different schedules for a succession of colour or pick ones which flower together for a multifaceted all-at-once display. Crocus, Galanthus (snowdrops) and dwarf Iris – like Iris reticulata – are all latewinter flowering, popping up in January and February so they’re among the earliest to appear.
While iris prefer full sun, crocus and galanthus like partial shade.
This makes them fantastic for underplanting beneath deciduous trees and shrubs that lose their leaves for winter, since these allow some light through to the ground come spring. Both are small, at around 10-15cm high, so it’s best to plant lots to make sure flowers don’t get lost.
Appearing in early to mid-spring, most varieties of narcissus (daffodils), tulips and hyacinth pop up next.
If like me you’re a big fan of daffs and want a spring full of them you can get early-flowering varieties like ‘February Gold’ and ‘Rijnveld’s Early Sensation’, which will flower in winter, and follow them up with March-flowering ‘Crewenna’ and April-flowering ‘Dutchmaster’ varieties.
Planting in clumps of at least six will help to strengthen your display. I love lining the garden path with them as a cheerful welcome for visitors.
Finally, in late spring, alliums join the party. Most varieties of these prefer full sun so bear this in mind when planting. The pretty flowers are generally showier and larger than earlier-flowering bulbs but they still work best in clumps of several together for maximum impact.
Layer planting
Now that you know when different bulbs flower, you can put this knowledge to good use with layer planting. This enables you to plant a range of bulbs with different flowering times in a single container, without sacrificing any flower space.
To do it take a container at least 50cm deep and plant bulbs as you would layer a lasagne. Begin by adding grit for drainage and partfilling with specialist bulb compost.
Planting now gives them a chance to charge over winter
Next, plant a late-flowering bulb variety like Allium sphaerocephalon (round-headed garlic).
Be sure to space bulbs correctly according to their labels then cover with a layer of bulb compost and repeat with a mid-season bulb variety, such as the ‘Angelique’ cultivar of tulip.
Again, cover with compost and repeat for an early-flowering variety, like Crocus chrysanthus ‘Spring Beauty’.
Finally, add a layer of winterflowering pansies and you’ll have a succession of flowers from now all the way through to August 2019. For extra oomph you could even mix the bulbs in each layer – as long as their flowering times are similar you won’t have gaps, and different colour combinations can be remarkably effective.
Bulbs in lawn
Another option if you’re looking to spruce up your lawn – or simply gain extra flower space in your garden – is to naturalise bulbs within the lawn.
First, choose bulbs that finish flowering before March, when the grass will start growing again, so that you won’t struggle to mow while they’re in flower. Next, give the lawn a trim. This will keep it neat and tidy so flowers can be seen clearly next year.
For a natural look, take handfuls of bulbs and scatter them lawn. haphazardly on the Plant them wherever they land, ensuring that they are not too close together as this will reduce flowering.
Plant bulbs at three times their own depth to stop them from drying out as the weather warms up.
This is where the bulb planting tools by Kent and Stowe really come into their own.
I particularly like their long-handled bulb planter, which can be pushed into the ground with your foot, just like a garden spade. It cuts a circular space just right for a single bulb and does away with the difficulty of digging into hardened ground with a trowel. They also do hand-held bulb planters for use in borders and containers.
Place bulbs in the holes and twist them into the ground as if screwing in a lightbulb. This helps to ensure there is no space for water to collect underneath where it could rot the bulb.
Loosen soil from the plug of lawn you just removed and use it to cover the bulb, then simply replace the grass on top, level with the surrounding lawn. In a few months, you’ll be greeted by delightful flowers pushing their way up through the grass. Spring is sprung!