Eleanor Clarke

GARDEN DESIGN

Let's Plant Spring Bulbs

Mid to late autumn is the very best time of year to plant spring-flowering bulbs. The joy that those little packages of promise deliver after the long, dark days of winter is immense, so even if it’s just a pot or two of daffs or tulips to pop by the front door, it’s SO worth planting a few in readiness.

We all know about snowdrops, daffodils, tulips and crocus, but there are heaps of others you can try too. What about the gorgeous starry sky-blue pops of colour that are glory of the snow? The vivid stems of grape hyacinths (in white, pale duck egg, then all the blues to midnight)? Cheerful duckling yellow winter aconites, one of the first to bring colour to hedgerows and gardens in February. And then there’s the intricately designed flowers of snake’s head fritillary, mini outdoor artworks in themselves, which love a reliably damp spot in a lawn or border…

When to Plant

Whatever you’re planting, October is a great time to do it. Although you can leave tulips untll the end of November, if you like. Planting them into cold earth makes them less vulnerable to soil-borne diseases.

So that’s the When. Now what about the Where? That really depends on the kinds of bulbs you’re planting. Some naturalise beautifully (ie they slowly multiply over the years, to spread). Here we’re talking crocuses and daffodils (and some tulips), in lawns, daffodils in flower borders, snowdrops in borders and woodland areas. It tends to be the species that naturalise more enthusiastically – so classic large-flowered daffs such as the wild daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus (rather than the tiny scented ones, or the ones bred to have all kinds of cute variations), and early crocus, Crocus tommasinianus. Or create a carpet of colour under shrubs in borders with glory of the snow (Chionodoxa luciliae) and Scilla siberica.

Here’s a top tip: label your pots

Many’s the time we’ve planted a lovely pot of mixed tulips in November, loved them to the point of obsession in April, thought ‘Ooh, let’s do another, bigger pot of that combo again for next year… But we NEVER remember which varieties they were. So it’s label, label, label here at The Nunhead Gardener. It’s the only way.

Photo: Annie Spratt

General rules of thumb for all bulbs

Plant pointy end up, flat end down
Plant at a depth of around three times the size of the bulb
Press the bulb in gently, then cover with soil/compost and firm down gently

Planting in beds and borders...

Planting in heavy London clay? Then dig in a load of organic matter eg homemade compost, peat-free compost, leaf mould, and some horticultural grit/gravel to help drainage
Fork through the soil and add a handful or two of slow-release fertiliser
Toss your bulbs gently onto the soil and plant where they land (they look much more natural this way)

…and in pots

Sandwich your bulbs between layers of potting compost
Plant bulbs so they’re almost touching each other
Cover the surface with a layer of horticultural grit or pea shingle to discourage weeds (looks lovely and neat too)

Photo: Aaron Burdern

Just one pot? Create a bulb ‘lasagne’

Here’s a fun way to create huge impact in the smallest of spaces. Get your hands on a generously sized pot (with plenty of drainage holes), then choose two or three different kinds of bulbs that either flower simultaneously or consecutively. Layer these into your pot, largest variety at the bottom, working up to the smallest and finishing with a layer of compost, then grit/gravel mulch: eg Compost, tulips, compost, dwarf narcissi, compost grape hyacinths, compost, horticultural grit

Have fun with it, dream up some wonderful colour combinations, and make sure you give the pot your best spot in the limelight come spring.

The trouble with tulips…

It’s a question we’re asked time and time again: why don’t my tulips flower every year? The truth is you’re not doing anything wrong; it’s just the way they are. The tall, showy hybrid tulips are simply bred to be one-hit wonders. We think they’re so beautiful and memorable that they’re well worth it.

However… there are plenty of boomerang tulips that will come back year after year. Try the lovely green-streaked Viridiflora tulips like ‘Spring Green’, ‘Orange Marmalade’ and ‘Groenland’. Another group that tends to last well in borders as well as pots are the Darwin hybrids – these have impressively large flowers and a great range of punchy colours: sunset-streaked ‘Mystic van Eijk’ or gorgeous ‘Pink Impression’ perhaps. Triumph tulips can be a good bet too, varieties such as pale purple-pink ‘Mistress Mystic’, rich claret ‘Jan Reus’ or copper-maroon ‘Brown Sugar’ or near-black ‘Continental’ are just a few to choose from.