Bulbs to discover
There are so many spring bulbs to choose from: literally hundreds of varieties in every shape and colour imaginable. Check out a few of our top picks.
1. Camas ( Camassia quamash)
From a rosette of lanceolate leaves, looking much like an ornamental grass, this plant grows 70 to 90 centimetres tall. Late in the season, it blossoms into pyramidal spikes of blue, purple or white star-like flowers. Unlike other bulbs, this plant from Canada’s West Coast prefers soil that is always a bit moist. Bonus:
You can also grow it for its edible bulb!
HARDINESS ZONES: 3 TO 8
2. Autumn crocus ( Colchicum ‘Lilac Wonder’)
This curious bulb flowers immediately after planting, so get it into the ground as soon as it arrives in the store! While the blooms appear in the fall, the long, broad leaves don’t emerge until spring, growing to a height of 12 centimetres. The large goblet-shaped pinkish-lilac flowers grow straight from the ground. Be aware that all parts of this plant are poisonous. HARDINESS ZONES: 4 TO 9
3. Crocus ( Crocus spp.)
Beautiful clusters of small cup-shaped purple, white, yellow or bi-coloured blossoms arise directly from the ground, without a stalk. They are surrounded by a small clump of grasslike leaves. This early-flowering spring ephemeral grows six to 10 centimetres in height. HARDINESS ZONES: 3 TO 8
4. Crown imperial ( Fritillaria imperialis)
A spectacular plant with a cluster of large drooping bells in red, orange or yellow atop a sturdy upright stem. This early blooming flower grows 80 centimetres to 1 metre in height. As the name suggests, it is crowned with a tuft of narrow green leaves that resemble a pineapple. One drawback is its scent—the whole plant smells somewhat of skunk. It requires very well-drained soil to succeed.
HARDINESS ZONES: 4 TO 8
5. Garlic ( Allium sativum)
Yes, garlic—the culinary kind—is a bulb! Simply plant the individual cloves in the fall like any other hardy bulb. Of course, it isn’t grown for its flowers, but rather for its delicious and aromatic bulb that doesn’t mature until late the following summer. You can also harvest its curiously coiled scape (flower stalk) in early summer: It’s considered a true delicacy. Garlic scapes grow to about 30 centimetres to one metre in height. HARDINESS ZONES: 3 TO 9
6. Glory of the snow ( Chionodoxa forbesii)
This small, easy-to-grow bulb bears upright clusters of star-shaped flowers in early spring, usually blue with a white eye, but sometimes white or pink. There are only two to three very small linear leaves at its base, and it grows 12 to 18 centimetres in height. It will multiply on its own over time. HARDINESS ZONES: 3 TO 8
7. Common hyacinth ( Hyacinthus orientalis)
Broad lanceolate leaves form a rosette from which a robust stem emerges bearing about 40 starshaped flowers in a wide range of colours: blue, purple, pink, red, yellow, white and more. The common hyacinth blooms in early spring and grows to a height of 20 or 30 centimetres. Intensely perfumed, if you plant 10 or so hyacinths together, you’ll be able to smell them from afar! HARDINESS ZONES: 4 TO 9
8. Grape hyacinth ( Muscari armeniacum)
This charming little bulb produces a rosette of linear leaves and a spike of small ball-shaped cobalt blue flowers mid-season. It grows about 15 to 20 centimetres tall. Oddly enough, the plant produces its first leaves in the fall, then renews them in the spring. It multiplies fairly quickly by division and self-sowing. HARDINESS ZONES: 3 TO 8
9. Reticulated iris ( Iris reticulata)
One of the first blossoms of spring, this iris’s flowers are huge compared to the tiny size of the plant, which grows to a height of 15 centimetres. Most flowers are blue or purple marked with yellow and white, but there are many other colour variations. HARDINESS ZONES: 4 TO 9
10. Trumpet daffodil ( Narcissus spp.)
The classic daffodil, readily recognized by its early to mid-season bloom whose central crown juts out like a trumpet. The petals can be yellow or white; the trumpet, white, yellow, orange or even salmon. Each stem bears only one flower, but the bulb can produce multiple stems. Grows between five to 55 centimetres tall, depending on the variety. HARDINESS ZONES: 3 TO 8
11. Small-crowned narcissus ( Narcissus spp.)
With its compact central crown, each flower seems to have a little eye that winks at you. There are many colours to choose from—petals range from white, yellow or orange; the crown, white, yellow, orange, salmon, red or green. Plus, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Many produce more than one flower per stem, while others are fragrant, and different varieties have variable flowering seasons from early to late season. Grows to a height of 30 to 45 centimetres. HARDINESS ZONES: 3 TO 8
12. ‘Purple Sensation’ ornamental onion ( Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’)
There are several varieties of ornamental onions, but the most widely available, easiest to grow and least expensive is ‘Purple Sensation.’ Reliable and long-lived, its tall flower stalk is capped with a globe of small purple stars that towers over a large rosette of ribbon-like leaves. This late-flowering beauty grows from 60 centimetres to one metre in height. Plant it in the background to hide its foliage, which begins to turn yellow even as it flowers. Bonus: it makes an excellent dried flower! HARDINESS ZONES: 4 TO 9
13. Turkestan onion ( Allium karataviense)
As low-growing as its cousin ‘Purple Sensation’ is tall, this small lateflowering ornamental onion grows only 25 to 30 centimetres. This plant offers two draws: First, a beautiful ball of white to pale pink or crimsonred flowers up to 20 centimetres in diameter on a short stalk. Second, beautiful, broad, blue-green leaves, that grow almost horizontally. They’re impressive before, during and after flowering. HARDINESS ZONES: 3 TO 8
14. Siberian squill ( Scilla siberica)
This small bulb produces two to four narrow leaves and several bellshaped bright blue flowers with a dark median stripe. Blooming in early to mid-spring, Siberian squill grows to a height of 10 to 15 centimetres. It naturalizes abundantly by self-sowing to form mats of blue flowers over time. HARDINESS ZONES: 2 TO 8
15. Common snowdrop ( Galanthusnivalis)
Along with winter aconite, this is likely to be the first flower to bloom in your spring garden. Each bulb produces only two to three grass-like green leaves and a single flower stem bearing a pendulous white flower touched with green. A small spring ephemeral, it grows to only 10 to 15 centimetres tall. Flowering improves each year as it quickly forms a dense clump. HARDINESS ZONES: 3 TO 7
16. ‘Fusilier’ Tulip ( Tulipa praestans ‘Fusilier’)
A small botanical tulip with up to five orange-red flowers per bulb. This plant blossoms in the early spring season, and grows to a height of 35 centimetres. Like most botanical tulips, it’s very perennial, flowering again and again for decades. HARDINESS ZONES: 4 TO 8
17. Darwin Hybrid tulips ( Tulipa Darwin Hybrid)
A very large mid-season tulip, this is the most perennial of all hybrid tulips—they continue to come back year after year. Mainly available in yellow, orange and red, though if you look, you’ll also find other colours. A reliable bloomer, it grows to a height of 55 to 70 centimetres. Among many available varieties, ‘Apeldoorn’ and ‘Impression’ series are popular. HARDINESS ZONES: 3 TO 8
18. Triumph tulips ( Tulipa Triumph)
With hundreds of varieties, Triumph tulips come in almost every colour imaginable (with the exception of true blue). The choice is yours! A mid-season bloomer, these tulips grow to around 20 to 60 centimetres tall, depending on the variety. Be forewarned, however, these are not the longest lived bulbs, so you’ll need to plant new ones after two or three years. HARDINESS ZONES: 4–8
19. Grecian windflower ( Anemone blanda)
A small plant with two or three attractively cut leaves that grows 10 to 15 centimetres tall and produces a single daisy-shaped flower. The flower itself is three to five centimetres in diameter and comes in shades of blue, mauve, pink or white. It flowers early in the spring season and is very long-blooming for a bulb: up to six weeks. Plant the wrinkled, small rhizome soon after you bring it home, first soaking it in water for 24 hours so it swells up. It naturalizes very well. HARDINESS ZONES: 4 TO 8
20. Winter Aconite ( Eranthis hyemalis)
Along with the snowdrop, this flower is generally one of the first of the season to bloom. The tiny plant bears only one short stem and two fringed leaves, forming a collar under a single buttercup yellow flower, growing to a height of just five to eight centimetres. The wrinkled tubers are not very tolerant of dry storage, so plant them soon after purchasing, soaking them in water for 24 hours beforehand to plump up. HARDINESS ZONES: 3 TO 7