Dream team for spring displays
TULIPS are the superstars of your spring garden, standing tall in sizzling colours.
There are thousands of varieties, many splashed with another colour, some with a sweet fragrance.
They can range from the small, hardy species often used in rock gardens to majestic Darwin hybrids that are the backbone of the perennial border in spring.
November is the month to plant tulip bulbs. Simply set in well-draining soil at least twice the depth of the bulb and 15-20cm apart.
Plan and you can enjoy a continuous show of blooms from late February to May, starting with Kaufmanniana and Greigii tulips and ending with lily-flowered and Rembrandt tulips.
In- between, rely on the Darwin hybrids to steal the show. They look spectacular among wallflowers. Flamboyant Parrots are perfect for cutting and arranging but, as with all tulips, they continue to grow in a vase so cut stems slightly shorter than you want them when arranging.
Create a sophisticated container scheme on your doorstep with the ever-popular, velvety maroon blooms of Queen of Night.
Romantic
Or try its double form Black Hero, and Shirley, which is white with purple margins or White Triumphator, which is pure white with long petals.
The rippled green and white petals of tulip Spring Green is always the must- have bulb. Its softly striped petals work with red or purple tulips to bring contemporary glamour.
To fit with a romantic-style cottage theme, combine anemones and tulips in pots and borders. Go for Lilac Perfection, soft-pink Angelique and Esther and ruffled pink Fantasy to combine with violet-blue and white shades of single and double-flowered Anemone coronaria.
To pack a punch in borders, partner the tangerine blooms of lily-flowered Ballerina with ruby- coloured aquilegias, bright blue Anenome blanda and Euphorbia x martini.
Decorating the patio with pots and window boxes could not be easier, especially if you plant small pots with different varieties. When buds show colour, plunge the whole pot into compost alongside wallflowers and ranunculus. Use tails of ivy to bring the whole scheme nicely together.
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