Bulbs 

Correctly, bulbs should be grouped with the perennial flowers, but they are so special as to be deserving of separate treatment. Spring bulbs flower from January to May and then the summer bulbs – lillies, dahlias, gladiolus and montbretia – take over. Spring bulbs provide a very important complement to early-flowering shrubs and trees.

To depend on one or even two of the five groups will leave the garden with gaps during the year. For example, if only trees and shrubs are used, the high summer will be a very dull time – the garden will cry out for flowers. If just perennial flowers and bedding plants are used, the garden will be virtually empty in winter.

When to plant

Bulbs are usually sold dry but some, such as dwarf iris and cyclamen, are often sold in pots. Others, e.g. snowdrops, transplant poorly as dry bulbs and are sold after flowering ‘in the green’. Dry bulbs should be planted as soon as possible after purchase. Daffodils should be planted in late August, September or October and tulips between September and early November. Pot-grown plants can be planted at any time of the year provided the ground is not waterlogged or frozen. Summer flowering bulbs and bulbs ‘in the green’ should be planted in mid to late spring.
Specially prepared bulbs of hyacinths and daffodils for early flowering indoors should be planted in late summer or early winter and kept in a cool, frost free place for a minimum period of 10 weeks.

Where to plant

Bulbs provide a great variety of different colour, size and shape of flowers and they can be used in practically every garden situation, except deep shade. The tall grandeur and symmetry of hybrid tulips make them ideal for formal bedding schemes, either planted on their own or mixed with other spring flowering bedding plants. The informality of daffodils with their nodding heads and bright primary colours are excellent for naturalising in grass and also for enlivening dull corners of the garden. As bulbs provide intense colour with little effort, they are often used for filling up gaps in more permanent plantings such as herbaceous and shrub borders.
Dwarf daffodils, crocus and other bulbs with tiny flowers are suitable subjects for rock gardens and also for growing in containers and window boxes. Some bulbs such as hyacinths and daffodils can be forced into flower early and can be cultivated indoors.

What to plant

In late August or September garden centres have a wide range of interesting spring flowering bulbs on display. Garden centre staff can advise on the most suitable bulbs for particular situations and for local conditions. Well known bulbs such as daffodils and tulips will often be sold loose but less well known types e.g. Galanthus and Erythronium will be sold in packets with detailed cultural instructions. As bulbs are available for practically every garden situation, select the types that best suit your needs as shown below:

How to plant

Bulbs can be planted with a trowel or with a specialised bulb planter. In most cases, the hole for individual bulbs should be twice the depth of the bulb for small bulbs and up to three to five times the depth for large ones. Tuberous begonias should be planted shallowly with the top of the tuber just below the soil surface. Planting distance between bulbs can vary greatly but two to three times the width of the bulb would be satisfactory in many cases. Bulbs should be inserted in the hole with the pointed end facing upwards and tubers should have any buds or eyes facing upwards. After covering with soil, the surface should be firmed and watered.
Where large numbers of bulbs are being planted, the area should be dug to the correct depth, the bulbs planted and the soil backfilled carefully (so as not to dislodge the bulbs) and watered well.

Where bulbs are being naturalised in grass, the sward should be cut as short as possible and the bulbs scattered by hand over the selected area. The bulbs should be planted where they fall but not closer than one bulb’s width apart.