What are bulbs? The word bulbs in landscape and gardening terms covers a wide range of plant materials, many of which are not bulbs at all!! In botany, a bulb is a short underground stem with fleshy leaves or leaf bases . Think of an onion sliced from top to bottom. You can clearly see the basal plate, with fleshy leaf bases around the bud. Other plant material we casually call “bulbs” include corms, tubers (stems and roots) and rhizomes.
Bulbs are used in gardens, and I think, to a lesser degree in landscapes to add a “pop” of colour, often in seasons or areas which otherwise have minimal interest. Some bulbs are better suited to particular situations, depending on what the designer is aiming to achieve and how much maintenance is available. This would tend to preclude planting bulbs in landscape designs which require, for example, lifting and storing in the winter whereas that might be perfectly feasible in a garden.
There are so many areas where bulbs can make a difference. From planting in drifts below trees, planting in borders, planning in pots to planting in bedding schemes. More details below on suitable bulbs for each possibility and how to plant.
Right bulb, right place. It is important to choose bulbs which will perform as you want them to. For example, planting tulips in drifts under trees are unlikely to be as successful as planting narcissi or cyclamen, for example. Also consider whether bulbs are better planted as dormant bulbs or “in the green” when they are actively growing. Bluebells and Snowdrops are much more successful if they are planted “in the green” and can be specified as such in landscape schemes as well as used in gardens.
Planted in this state allows for better establishment rates and can help to create an instant effect, once they have settled into place. Other bulbs can also be planted “in the green” to create an instant effect although they are more likely to be used in gardens this way, rather than landscape schemes.
A popular choice for the use of bulbs is planting in drifts for naturalising. This means that bulbs are planted and then allowed to propagate themselves, providing more bulbs (and flowers) as time goes on.
Narcissi (including daffodils) are ideal for naturalising and are available in many different forms from miniature varieties, such as “Tête-à-Tête” to taller varieties with flowers at 30 cms high, or more, such as “Mount Hood” a beautiful white form, and one of my favourites.
Other bulbs for naturalising include Crocus, Bluebells, Snowdrops and Snake’s head Fritillary although there are many more.
A word of warning regarding crocus – the flowers are often pecked by birds, leaving a littering of petals and a poor display overall.
For spring flowering bulbs, plant in autumn, choosing bulbs which are large enough to be expected to flower the following spring and specified according to the circumference of the bulb, which should be 10 -12 cms.
Three other things you need to specify in a landscape scheme or consider for a garden, are the density (how many bulbs per square metre), depth of planting (2-3 times the height of the bulb, as a rule of thumb) and how to determine the position of the bulbs. Planting at specific distances apart will make the planting seem regimented, rather than natural, so it is generally advised to throw the bulbs onto the ground and plant them where they fall. For landscape schemes, this technique should be noted on the landscape plan.
If regimented planting is your thing, you could always plant in a specific pattern, of course. This example is local to me, in Kingsmead, Northwich, where the daffodils enhance the “crown shaped hedge at the top of the mound.
The image was captured from Google and used in a Northwich Guardian article
Another scheme local to me has been created by the Weaverham Village Trust. It is a glorious mixture of bulbs which give a succession of planting from early spring right through to the summer.
The bulbs are early flowering yellow Narcissi, late flowering white Narcissi, Camassia and purple Allium. They are planted in grass along a stretch of the main road at the edge of the village and give a warm welcome as you enter the village.
The photographs here are courtesy of the Weaverham Trust who have kindly given me permission to use them in this blog.
An important thing to note about planting bulbs on grass is that they will need to be left at least 6 weeks after flowering before they are cut back. This is to allow time for the leaves to create new bulbs for the next year, which will be big enough to flower. This can look “messy” to some people, or it creates a temporary textural difference, if you prefer.
This sort of succession can also be used in beds without grass and bulbs have their own place in a border as memorable highlights in themselves or as a companion to shrubs or herbaceous borders, making the whole look more attractive.
This photograph of mine shows part of a border in Ness Gardens with Alstroemeria providing a blaze of orange in the border, along with red and yellow Crocosmia.
Summer bulbs, such as Lilies, Allium, Gladioli, Dahlia, Alstroemeria, Crocosmia and Iris should be planted in late spring, after the last frosts. Some of these summer bulbs will need to be lifted to avoid frosts in late autumn, but some of them are hardy and will be happy in the ground for years to come.
Autumn flowering bulbs, such as Autumn Snowflake, Colchicum, Winter aconite, Cyclamen, Nerines and Sternbergia should be planted in the late spring or early summer.
Many of these bulbs will provide a welcome surprise as some herbaceous plants are starting to fade.
So if you thought bulbs were just about planting a few narcissi each autumn, think again – there is a whole range of bulbs waiting to be used in both landscapes and gardens.
Bell, A.D. 1997. Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K.
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