Allen Wilson is a Vancouver gardening specialist. Email Allen Wilson at [email protected].
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Could you give us some suggestions for landscaping with fall planted bulbs?
Spring-flowering bulbs are available in many stores now. Best selections are at full-service nurseries and garden stores. Bulbs do dry out in stores, so buying early gives you the best quality. If you can’t plant right away, store bulbs in a cool place.
They can be planted up until early December.
There are so many places to plant bulbs that you can never have too many. They do not have to be limited to their own space. I like to plant bulbs anywhere I plant annual flowers. You can plant bulbs between currently growing annuals. In the spring I plant my annual flowers between bulbs, even before the bulb leaves start to turn brown.
I also plant bulbs among perennial flowers. They are through flowering before most perennials have grown to full size. There are a few early-blooming perennials such as rock cress, gold alyssum, and candytuft which bloom as early as bulbs.
Even these early bloomers are compatible with bulbs if you choose the right sizes and colors.
I am very fond of ground covers because they are low maintenance once established. Bulbs add color when they come up through ground covers. For example, yellow tulips or daffodils are a very attractive contrast to bronze leaf ajuga. You can make holes for bulb planting between ground-cover plants with a trowel or bulb planter. Or if your ground cover is very thick, a small hole for a bulb will be quickly filled in.
New beds for bulbs can also be created in front of shrubs, walls or fences. You need at least 2 feet for a single variety or 3 feet for two kinds.
Bulbs multiply over the years. If yours have become too thick, you may want to dig them up and respace them. If you have trouble locating them now, make a note on your calendar to dig and replant next June when you still have leaf remnants to find their exact location.
The best pattern for most bulb plantings is clusters or clumps rather than single-file rows. I prefer to plant individual colors and varieties rather than mixtures. If you plant more than one kind of bulb in a bed, check the heights, so you can plant the shorter ones in front.
Daffodils (narcissus) are the best adapted to our climate and are the easiest to grow. They are also deer resistant. Tulips are next in popularity. I plant a few of the less common bulbs to extend the blooming season. Crocus, snowdrops, chinodoxa, allium, and windflower (anemone) also do well. Hyacinths are also easy to grow.
Plant them where their unique fragrance can be enjoyed. Fall is also an excellent time to plant summer-blooming Oriental and Asiatic lilies. This is a good time to dig lily bulbs and move them to a different location or space them where they have become too crowded.
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