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Spring Bulbs-part 1What is your favourite sign of spring? I guess that for many of us it would be the sight of new bulbs starting to break through the ground. My wife says that the first snowdrops always cheer her up- a sign that winter is on the wane and bright spring days are on their way. They are such beautiful flowers, so intricate and delicate that it is hard to imagine that they are one of nature’s hardiest bulbs that are the first comers in our New Year gardens. There are many different varieties at least 42 to my knowledge! My particular favourite is the Galanthus nivalis Flore Pleno with its showy white double flowers reminiscent of winter snows. Register for FREE if you have not already registered and then click HERE to create a NEWTOPIC and tell us about your some of your favorites?
Now is the time to go out and see which bulbs you especially like. Over the next few weeks why not use some of the sunny days to go out and do ‘bulb’ research in local parks and gardens; have a look at which varieties are flowering and when they are in flower in your area- the flowering times will of course vary not only with the season’s climate but also with the part of the country you are in, so your research will be unique to you. This cold winter has meant that bulbs that would normally be in flower now are scarcely up to bud. It might be an idea to take a camera with you so that you have a record of the varieties you like and if you are unable to identify them yourself you could take your pictures into a good quality garden centre for identification or you could post a photo with a query on this site. It would be great to see the range of spring bulbs that are out there!Of course this is forward planning for the autumn when we will be planting the bulbs, but now is the time to identify the gaps in your garden that would benefit from some spring colour in future years. Make a rough sketch of the garden and identify where the gaps are and what colours you would like to see there from the spring palette. Bear in mind that you will need a mix of early and later flowering varieties to have colour throughout the spring months. The crocus is another popular early spring bulb, and the variety of colours and colour ways are endless. Varieties which are quite easy to grow are crocus chrysanthus Blue Pearl and crocus chrysanthus Cream Beauty, but there are hundreds of varieties to choose from. I usually recommend planting them in groups of a minimum of 5 to have a natural effect. I can think of nothing more expressive of the English Spring than the sight of beds of daffodils described so beautifully in the words of our well loved poet who wrote an entire poem about them; ‘A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze’ (Wordsworth) In our area the local authorities have planted hundreds of daffodil bulbs alongside the dual carriage ways and it is fantastic to drive along the roads swathed in yellow bands of flowers, especially on a sunny day. If you are lucky enough to have a big area laid to meadow, you can plant large numbers of bulbs over a big area to stunning effect for a relatively low expense. I could devote an entire article just to this wonderful species of flower, the options are endless and so I am going to save this for next time…..
Part 2 of this article will go into more detail about some of the different varieties of bulbs around and other spring favourites. |
