The perfect flower for all gardens, all gardeners

Published 1:01 pm Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Whether your garden is lush with too many plants or lacking the lovely look it deserves, there is a common cure: spring-flowering bulbs.

Autumn is when you plant early-season beauties like crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths, scilla, snowdrops and tulips because they require a long period of lower temperatures to spark the biochemical process that causes them to flower in spring.

One afternoon planting bulbs this fall can yield weeks of color next spring, according to Sally Ferguson at the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center. To accomplish that, select a palette of bulbs with different flowering times. Even daffodils come as early-, mid- and late-season bloomers.

When you shop garden centers or browse mail-order sources, look for bulbs that contrast and complement each other.

Bulbs are perfect for all garden styles and levels of gardening experience because they are easy, versatile and tolerant. All the planting information you need comes right on the packaging. They also give you a good investment on your gardening dollars because they return year after year, often spreading in greater numbers.

Judy Glattstein, the author of “Flowering Bulbs for Dummies” and “Bulbs for Garden Habitat” suggests allocating at least 10 percent to 15 percent of space in a perennial border to bulbs.

“That way when the bulbs are dormant in summer, there are no huge bare areas but rather nice places for tucking annuals in for summer interest,” she says.

When it comes to architecture and garden design, bulbs work with anything and everything: among boxwoods at a formal home, in a woodland setting around a cottage, as a flower border in front of a townhome or within an edible garden at a rural retreat.

Bulbs also work in various light conditions. Some, such as tulips, need full sun, while others such as daffodils thrive under deciduous trees where sun filters through before the trees leaf out.

If you have no actual garden space or want your bulb garden to be mobile, you can plant bulbs in small or large containers.

When spring gets closer, begin pulling off some of the mulch or leaves, exposing emerging bulb sprouts to sunlight; otherwise, the leaves yellow. Every week, pull back a bit more; once they are up and budding, place the pots where you want them or insert them into prettier containers.

Bulb basics

Choose bulbs for your area; Western Washington is USDA Zone 4a.

Plant bulbs in bouquets or clusters for eye-catching color and display,

Plant the pointy end up. If you can’t determine which end is right, plant the bulb on its side and it will right itself.

Forget fertilizer the first year because bulbs are natural storehouses of food. The second year, fertilize in the fall or early spring with organic fertilizer like compost or aged cow manure, or a slow-release bulb food.

Read the labels on your bulbs for planting depths and sun exposure. Mulch after planting.

Water your bulb planting thoroughly so their roots start growing, and then let Mother Nature do the rest.

Learn more through the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center at www.bulb.com.