TROOPING THE COLOUR
Plant vibrant tulips now to add military majesty to spring shows
Your tulips,’ said a visitor to my parents’ garden, ‘are so . . . military.’ Mother was offended but not Dad. He loved planting tulips in regiments and these were guardsman red. Despite the criticism, those Apeldoorn tulips were magnificent. Like all tall varieties, they were developed for bedding.
With colours and sizes for all tastes, tulips are the heart and soul of formal, spring displays.
unaccompanied, they flower for three weeks, but mixed with wallflowers, forget-me-nots or other spring biennials the show will run from March to late May.
Tulips are great for informal planting, too. You can group them in borders, in single colour groups or as mixtures.
Choose early, mid-season and late varieties for a three-month spring display.
Daffodils and narcissus are just as bright and beautiful. unlike tulips, they’re reliably perennial, increasing their numbers each year at no extra cost.
The bulb-planting season has begun. So buy them now to invest in a beautiful spring.
BE PREPARED
WHen choosing large bulbs, it’s best to have a plan. This is particularly important with formal beds. Besides choosing particular colours and sizes, you’ll need to know when bulbs will flower.
early tulips can come out in February. The latest peak in May. So when matching colours, ensure the varieties flower at the same time. With formal bedding, extend the season with companion plants, such as spring daisies and wallflowers, that bloom before, with and after the tulips.
You can also extend bedding displays with other bulbs. Dutch crocuses or small, early narcissus could give a colour overture before the big tulip feature.
With naturalistic planting you can blend bulbs with any broadleaf plants. Summer perennials look boring when just mounds of spring foliage. But with flowering bulbs nestling among them, they come to life.
My mixed borders are almost rudely colourful from March onwards, just because of bulbs.
After a few posh snowdrops and special aconite varieties, recycled
Picture:ALAMY pot hyacinths lower the tone, but boost the colour. I also blend antique narcissus varieties, such as white and orange Lucifer and the smaller Firebrand, with emerging perennials.
Critics will say I have too many bulbs. But I don’t care.
ENCHANTING DAFFS
LArge trumpet daffodils and tall narcissus can be too unruly for small beds and borders, but look good in rough grass.
For part-shaded areas, or sunny ground, these bulbs will steadily increase. Big daffodils such as unsurpassable or pale-lemon Pistachio are an attractive bet.
In contrast, Wordsworth’s little daffodil, Narcissus pseudonarcissus is also enchanting. Drifts of those flourish among primroses in my woodland garden. The wild Tenby daffodil, Narcissus obvallaris is just as pretty.
For small beds or large pots, the choice of narcissus increases yearly. Most are easy to grow.
Among small, wild-looking daffodils, N. cyclamineus varieties have elegantly swept-back petals. There is all-yellow rapture and orange-trumpeted Jetfire; yellow trumpeted, white-petalled Jack Snipe; and Jenny with white and pale-cream flowers.
Plant daffodils and narcissus as soon as you can. Tulips can be planted as late as november.