Here are my top tips for planning a planting a beautiful spring flower garden full of flowering bulbs! Tip 1 - Pick a Color Palette Interior designers often work with a color palette which is a selection of colors chosen to give a room or a home a particular look, mood or style. This technique is equally effective in gardens and landscapes.
One option is to choose a single-color scheme such as all pink, white or purple. The effect is simple and always has a big impact. You can also build your design around a pair of colors such as pink and white, red and yellow, or my personal favorite, orange and purple. Another approach is to use the color wheel to choose a harmony of several related colors such as pink, lavender and burgundy or yellow, orange and red.
Tip 2 - Include Different Bloom Times From early-blooming crocuses to late-blooming alliums, the spring bulb season can stretch for as long as 8-10 weeks. When choosing your bulbs, be sure to include a few from each bloom time: early, midseason and late season. This way you’ll have flowers in bloom for as long as possible. My spring garden goal is to have new blooms each week from early April through late May. Plant early, mid, and late season daffodils which bloom first. The late daffodils overlap with the early tulips, and the late tulips share the stage with early alliums.
Tip 3 - Plant in Large Groups Spring-blooming bulbs look best when the plantings are generous, and the bulbs are grouped together. Small bulbs such scilla or crocus should be planted in groups of at least 25 bulbs. Tulips look best in groups of at least 12 bulbs. Daffodils and alliums can be planted in threes, though groups of 7, 9, or 11 look even better. If you’re just getting started with flower bulbs plant more than what you think an area will call for. I order 400 tulip bulbs for the main flower walk each fall and I fill each 4 by 8 raised bed with 450 tulip bulbs for cutting. You can push the spacing closer than what’s recommended on the package for bulbs you plan to treat as annuals, but it’s important to give perennial bulbs the space they require.
Tip 3 - Repeat Shapes and Colors
Landscapes are more pleasing and cohesive when the same plant or grouping of plants appears in multiple locations. Our eyes connect these similar shapes or colors into one scene rather than a collection of separate elements. In a formal setting, plant in squares, rectangles or circles. For a more natural or informal look, use ovals, triangles, kidney shapes or a free-form shape that fits the location.
Tip 4 - Plant Both Annual and Perennial Bulbs Many spring bulbs, including daffodils, scilla, and alliums and muscari, can be considered perennials, as they will return and bloom again every spring. In fact, most of these hardy bulbs will naturalize and multiply over time.
Tulips are often treated as annuals because they usually put on their best show the first spring after planting. In the right growing conditions (full sun, well-drained soil, hot dry summers), some tulips, such as Darwin hybrids, will re-bloom for several years. However, if your goal is to have the most dramatic spring flower display plant new tulips every fall.
TIP 5 – Start with healthy large bulbs Generally speaking, the bigger the bulb the bigger the plant and the more flowers you can expect from that bulb. I personally use Longfield Gardens as my flower bulb source. They have been the most consistent in terms of quality and size. Healthy bulbs = healthy plants.
