Ornithogalum – NANCY WITH THE LAUGHING FACE

June 29, 2019January 21, 2020

Planning Ahead with Flower Bulbs

I can’t imagine a garden without the early spring blooms of bulbs such as crocus, snowdrops, hyacinth, daffodils, tulips and more! In late spring, the alliums and ornithogalum shine next to my early perennials. All during the spring months, as I watch each different bulb type emerge and bloom in succession, I visualize ways in which to add more beautiful bulbs to my gardens.

Alliums Stratos and Christophii with Ornithogalum in my June garden (photo by Nancy Marie Allen)

LET IT BE

It’s late June and all that remains of my beautiful spring bulb display is yellowing, tattered foliage. As difficult as it is to leave this withered mess untouched, bulbs need the energy stored in their foliage to produce blooms for next spring. Never cut, tie or braid bulb foliage but allow the plants to complete their growth cycle as undisturbed as possible. Be patient for in a few short weeks the unsightly dying foliage will have completely disappeared. Many bulbs self-sow so you’ll also want to leave those seed pods to work their magic in your garden next year. If your bulbs are interplanted with perennials, these large plants generally do a great job at hiding the mess leftover from your spring bulb party as they quickly reach their mature summertime size. Any remaining vacant spots can be filled in with some cheerful annuals.

Daffodils and Grecian Windflowers in May (photo by Nancy Marie Allen)

PLAN AHEAD

While you can still see where your bulbs grow, it’s a good time to think about what you want your garden to look like next spring. Would you like to plant more of a certain bulb variety or try something new? Do you have a color scheme in mind? Take a walk around the garden with a notebook and write down where you’d like to add more bulbs and what types. It’s also great to take pictures so you’ll have a visual aid when fall planting season comes along. If you could use more height and drama in your spring display, try some tall alliums. If you’d like to cover a lot of ground, early bulbs like snow glories (chionodoxa) or scilla will quickly spread themselves around for an abundance of early blooms. And don’t forget summer bulbs, like Oriental lilies, which make a stunning late-season addition to any garden!

Chionodoxa brighten the garden in April (photo courtesy of Preen.com)

MARK THE SPOT

Here’s an easy tip for helping with new bulb placement near existing plantings when you want to add more of a good thing. This year, for instance, I’ll be adding more allium christophii in a garden where some have already been planted. When the foliage is almost gone on my current plants, I’ll “mark” the spot with a rock. In the fall when my new bulbs arrive, it will be easy for me to find where the alliums are already planted and, by doing this, I can avoid disturbing the older bulbs while adding the new bulbs around them. By the way, the giant seed heads of allium christophii can remain in the garden for weeks after blooming, thus extending their season even longer.

Allium Christophii (photo courtesy of Ashridge Trees)

PLANT OUT OF SEASON

Although fall is prime time for bulb planting, there are circumstances when we may have to plant bulbs out of season. When we’re left with large clumps of daffodils or hyacinth which have stopped blooming because they’ve become overcrowded, it’s time to dig them up and separate the bulbs into smaller plantings. Also, after several seasons, some bulbs may spread too far beneath surrounding perennials where they can’t get enough sunlight; these stragglers should be moved for optimum blooms next spring.

Whatever the reason, there will come a time when you need to dig up and move bulbs. However, if you wait until fall to perform this task, it will be hard to find your bulbs which by then will be well hidden beneath the earth and covered by other plants. In this case, to avoid digging blind come October, wait until the foliage has almost completely died back in early summer and then carefully dig around the clump of bulbs. Lift them up, separate them into smaller groups and relocate the bulbs to other areas where they can spread out to bloom again. Put a little bulb food in the new hole and water after planting to help them settle in. The remaining foliage will disappear almost overnight so mark the spot or take a photo if you need to remember where you’ve already planted.

Allium Nigrum with Foxglove (photo courtesy of Swan Cottage Flowers)

SHOP EARLY

It’s hard to think of fall planting when summer has only just begun, but in the gardening world we have to plan ahead and that means shopping early for our spring bulbs. There are so many wonderful bulb websites and catalogs to browse through, it’s easy to create the perfect spring bulb garden for next year. Order now for fall planting so you’ll be sure to get the varieties you want before they’re sold out. It’s always a pleasant surprise to get a box of bulbs in the mail come fall!

Snowdrops provide early food for honey bees (photo courtesy of Garden with Diana)

For more on planning a spring bulb garden, click on this informative link:

https://www.longfield-gardens.com/article/How-To-Plan-A-Spring-Bulb-Garden

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Plants & Bulbs - Shop Now - BloomingBulb

April 16, 2019January 26, 2020

Astounding Alliums

Alliums are a diverse group of flowering onions which are care-free and resistant to rodents, rabbits, and deer. They thrive in full sun but will tolerate a bit of shade. Valued by gardeners for adding stately drama to the garden, they are also beloved by pollinators. If that isn’t enough to excite you, alliums are wonderful in cut flower arrangements and the dried seed heads remain accents in the garden long after the blooms fade. They’ve been grown in cottage gardens dating back to the 16th century and many heirloom varieties are still available today.

Alliums (Eden Brothers) — Tall Globe Alliums (Photo courtesy Eden Brothers)

Most of us are familiar with the tall globe alliums, those large purple flower balls so popular in spring landscape plantings. These somewhat alien-looking spheres grow from bulbs planted in the fall. Foliage emerges in early spring and then dies back as the giant flowers appear like reverse punctuation marks amongst late tulips and spring perennials. Combined with white Ornithogalum Magnum and Lady’s Mantle, the effect is magical. When planting, be sure to tuck allium bulbs behind perennials that will hide the dying foliage. Tall globe alliums come in different shades of purple as well as white and grow 36 to 48″ tall in hardiness zones 5 to 8.

Allium Garden — Alliums with Lady’s Mantle and Ornithogalum Magnum (Photo by Nancy Marie Allen)

Allium Christophii, also known as Star of Persia, tops my list as the star of my bulb garden. In early June, the 8 to 10-inch silvery-violet blooms absolutely sparkle in the garden! Although not as tall as the more well-known globe alliums, the huge blooms have the appearance of flower fireworks, immediately drawing one’s attention. The color and form blend perfectly with roses and peonies, but the most wonderful thing about Allium Christophii is that the giant flower heads dry perfectly right on the stem and last for weeks after blooming, thus extending the show into summer. Allium Christophii is a robust plant that grows 18 to 24″ tall and is suited for hardiness zones 4 to 8.

Allium Christophii (Ashridge Trees) — Allium Christophii sparkles in the border (Photo courtesy Ashridge Trees)

Allium Christophii combines well with roses (Photo courtesy Scott Aboretum)

Allium Christophii Close-Up (Photo courtesy Harts Nursery)

Looking for an allium that blooms late season? The common garlic chive is usually found in the herb garden since you can use the mild-tasting garlicky leaves and flowers in cooking. When added to the perennial border, however, the long-lasting soft white blooms add late summer into fall interest along with asters, sedum, purple coneflowers, and black-eyed Susans. Be prepared for a lot of buzz as these little flowers will attract a variety of bees and butterflies to your garden! The seed heads also remain visually interesting well into fall but you’ll want to remove these at the end of the season or the plants can aggressively self-sow. Garlic chives are about 20″ tall and are easy to grow in hardiness zones 3 to 10.

garlic chives (Kraut Source) — Late-blooming Garlic Chives (Photo courtesy Kraut Source)

I hope I’ve encouraged you to try alliums in your garden. There are many to choose from and, once you’ve planted the bulbs, you’ll enjoy the stunning flowers for years to come as they slowly multiply and enhance the beauty of your garden!

Allium Christophii combines well with roses (Scott Aboretum) — Allium Christophii with Roses (Photo courtesy Scott Arboretum)

September 12, 2018October 8, 2019

The Wonderful World of Bulbs

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.

flowers plant spring macro — 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!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — 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.

puple petaled flower — Hyacinth – Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

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.

1140_puschkinialibanoticapg300 — 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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