Flower bulbs push the gardening year right up to the edge of winter and there’s nothing more uplifting than the first garden blooms! For me, one of the greatest joys of gardening is seeing those first spring bulbs breaking through the earth as if by magic.
The lovely daffodil named Thalia
If you enjoy an early spring bulb garden, you’ve probably thought how wonderful it would be to keep those beautiful blooms going from early spring to summer. Fortunately, with the extensive variety of flower bulbs available today, you can easily achieve a long spring season by planting early, middle, and late-blooming bulbs.
Anemones tucked at the feet of perennial Lady’s Mantle
While spring bulbs are in their glory, take a few minutes to evaluate your own garden and perhaps visit others for some flowery inspiration, then plan on ordering your bulbs early before they sell out. As you browse catalogs or websites, try to visualize what you’d like to see in your garden and choose a color palette that appeals to you. Next, pick your favorite early spring bloomers and extend their season’s beauty by using the early, middle, and late-flowering variety plan.
Later-blooming Daffodils with Anemone and Heuchera
For example, Daffodil bulbs can bloom as early as late February here in Northeast Massachusetts and bright yellow Rijnveld’s Early Sensation is one of the earliest. Snowdrops and crocus are also very early bloomers and would make good companions. Ice Follies, a classic early to mid-season bloomer, looks stunning with the smaller bulbs of Early Snow Glories (Chionodoxa forbesii), Hyacinth, and Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica). Thalia, a pristine white beauty, blooms next along with Grape Hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) and old-fashioned Bleeding Heart while late-season Pheasant’s Eye looks lovely with the stately globe alliums as well as early spring perennials.
Thalia with old-fashioned Bleeding Heart and Vinca
You can try this method with many spring bulbs including Tulips, Alliums, Hyacinths, Daffodils, and of course the earliest bloomers such as Snowdrops and Crocus. Something to keep in mind is that smaller flower bulbs make great supporting stars for their larger spring cousins!
Alliums make a bold exclamation point in the late spring garden
Seek inspiration and plan your bulb garden now, purchase and reserve bulbs early to get the best varieties, and plant this fall for a colorful and long-blooming display next spring!
After the early bulbs and perennials of spring have bloomed and faded, many of us experience a garden pause before the June bloomers begin their show.
If you find that you need more color to bridge the gap from spring to summer in your garden, here are a few plants that will easily tie the seasons together!
Old-Fashioned Bleeding Heart (Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
OLD-FASHIONED BLEEDING HEART
Dicentra Spectabilis, commonly known as Bleeding Heart, is easily the best perennial for blooms that go from early May into June and sometimes beyond. You most often see these plants in the classic pink or white but there are new varieties now available including some with red flowers and golden or fern-like foliage.
In my gardens, bleeding heart begins its show along with the daffodils and continues well into peony season without missing a beat! Bleeding Heart prefers some afternoon shade and is cold hardy to Zone 3.
Jack Frost Brunnera (Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
BRUNNERA
Also known as Siberian Bugloss or False Forget-Me-Not, Brunnera is an early spring bloomer here in New England. Although the delicate blue flowers tend to fade as June rolls around, these plants easily carry on through summer with their stunning silvery foliage.
Brunnera positively shines in the shade garden, blending well with Hostas, Solomon’s Seal and Astilbes amongst others. Brunnera is cold hardy to Zone 3.
Geranium Macrorrhizum (Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
HARDY GERANIUM
Bigroot Geranium or Geranium Macrorrhizum is the first of my hardy geraniums to bloom, typically in mid to late May. The bright magenta flowers rise above the foliage on delicate looking stems but there is nothing delicate about these plants. Tough, reliable and drought-tolerant, Geranium Macrorrhizum forms an attractive mound, slowly spreading by rhizomes which make it an invaluable groundcover for sun to part shade.
Trim back the flower stems after blooming and the attractive foliage will look fresh all summer, sometimes turning red in the fall. This very hardy geranium is cold tolerant to Zone 3.
Guernsey Cream Clematis (Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
CLEMATIS
Clematis are often thought of as fussy plants but they’re actually very easy to grow in a sunny garden. They come in an amazing array of colors, flower forms, and heights from short to tall, and bloom times stagger throughout the growing season. Taller clematis will need some kind of support for their climbing vines while shorter ones can be allowed to ramble playfully around and through other plants.
If you love clematis, try an early blooming variety to get the show going. Guernsey Cream clematis is one that blooms for me in mid-May with creamy white blooms. Most clematis are hardy to Zone 4 but check to make sure the variety you choose is one that will grow in your area.
Yellow Bearded Iris with Bloomerang Purple Lilacs (Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
IRIS
Many Iris are June bloomers but there are a few early varieties that will make your May garden pop with color. If you’re partial to these beautiful plants and have the space, you can easily stagger the flower show for several weeks.
Iris are sun lovers and hardy to Zone 3. In the photo above, an unknown yellow bearded variety gifted by a neighbor blooms along with the lilacs!
Solomon’s Seal (Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
VARIEGATED SOLOMON’S SEAL
Variegated Solomon’s Seal brings fragrant blooms and a touch of sparkling white to the late spring garden. The wild form naturally grows here at the edges of the forest, but the variegated fragrant variety (Polygonatum Odoratum Variegatum) is one I have grown in my gardens for years.
The remarkable thing about Solomon’s Seal is that it’s a plant at home in full sun to full shade. Yes, that’s right, the plants shown above grow in full sun in one of the hottest areas of my yard which is a testament to its toughness and versatility. In my shaded gardens, this same Solomon’s Seal grows in great swaths, the white variegation lighting up the shadows.
The tiny white bell-shaped blooms which hang along the stems in spring become dark berries in summer and the foliage turns a soft gold in the fall. This is a perennial that truly spans the seasons!
Plant Variegated Solomon’s Seal where it will have plenty of room to grow for these plants love to spread themselves around. Winner of the 2013 Perennial Plant of the Year Award and hardy to Zone 3.
Alliums in late May (Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)
ALLIUMS
The impressive globes of Alliums add drama and texture to our late spring gardens like nothing else! Many grow from bulbs although a few grow from rhizomes such as our common chives. Again, there are early, mid and late varieties to choose from along with a huge size range from ground-hugging to towering. Alliums love a full sun location and are hardy to Zone 4.
All of the above plants are deer and rabbit resistant in my Zone 6 New England gardens.
NOW IS THE PERFECT TIME TO THINK AHEAD AND PLANT SPRING BULBS!
My love affair with flower bulbs began in 1974 after settling into my first home on Cape Ann in Massachusetts. The house was small and looked like it hadn’t been updated since the Great Depression. The yard was the size of a postage stamp. My husband and I didn’t care about that; we were young and hip and brimming over with enthusiasm. Getting in touch with the earth that our little yard provided seemed a natural course of action; so when spring rolled around we found the sunniest spot, turned over the grass, added manure and planted vegetables. By late summer we were knee deep in tomatoes, zucchini and green beans. Our tiny kitchen became a hothouse of frenzied canning and blanching. We could not believe the bounty that this little patch of earth provided and from then on we were hooked. After adding some roses and perennials, we looked forward to the abundant blooms in our future.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
Still burning with gardening fever that fall, I was easily seduced by a package offer of the earliest spring bulbs from a mail-order catalog. These were bulbs that went beyond the familiar daffodils and tulips I had grown up with. The idea of having blooms earlier than daffodils, well before the perennials came to life or annuals could even be planted, thus extending my gardening season by two or more months, was a prospect I couldn’t turn away from. Captivated by the bulbs’ exotic names of “Puschkinia” and “Chionodoxa,” I promptly mailed in my order. I had no idea of the big impact those little bulbs would have on me. When the tiny floral gems burst through the soil early the following spring, I thought, “Where have you been all my life?” and fell head over heels in love with bulbs. It was just the beginning.
Early Snowdrops (Galanthus) Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
MOVING FORWARD
Fast forward 20 years later to my 2nd home further inland with two forested acres and an expansive sunny backyard. So much land, so many gardening opportunities! A large vegetable garden was a given and there was plenty of room for perennial beds. Of course, no flower bed would be complete without my beloved bulbs. I couldn’t wait to get started!
Chionodoxa “Pink Giant” – Photo by Fantasticpixcool.com
An existing foundation garden around the front of the house just begged for the close-up blooms of early bulbs. I planted all the usual suspects and found that crocus and tulips were just a tasty treat for all the critters that also lived in my yard, so I began to look further into the bulb world. Slowly, through trial and error, I settled on the most dependable bulbs for my Zone 6 semi-shaded garden. These included, of course, my first loves of Puschkinia, Chionodoxa and the earliest of all, Galanthus or Snowdrops. Thalia Narcissus thrives in my rich humusy soil along with Hyacinth and the anemone, Grecian Windflower. These are followed by Spanish Bluebells looking like fairy princesses in their violet, bell-shaped blooms. Later bulbs such as the stately Alliums and Ornithogalum bloom well into June and fragrant, exotic Lilies carry on right through the heat of summer.
All of these bulbs thrive in my garden, slowly spreading over time and putting on a spectacular show starting some years as early as February. They take up little space, complement existing garden plants and require minimal care.
Puschkinia – Photo courtesy of Plants Galore
SOME TIPS FOR PLANTING BULBS
When planning your flower bed, plant perennials first, then tuck your bulbs in around them. Always follow planting depth and spacing recommendations. After blooming, when the bulb foliage starts to ripen and turn brown, the perennials will take over and hide the dying foliage. Never remove the spent bulb foliage; the bulbs need it to store energy for next season!
Get a good organic bulb food and follow directions on the package. Don’t over fertilize!
Study your garden’s sunlight and soil conditions and plant accordingly. Take the time to read about your favorite bulb’s preferences. Does it like shade, sun, moist or dry soil?
BE FEARLESS
There’s a world of bulbs that bloom from spring to autumn. Chat with gardeners in your neighborhood; search the internet, catalogs and gardening publications. Take a chance and experiment with something new and unusual. You may find that you fall in love with bulbs, too!
Muscari – Grape Hyacinth – Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
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