As all good gardeners know late September marks the beginning of the spring-flowering bulb planting season. Pop these fleshy, modified stems in the ground this autumn and you’ll be casting a kind of horticultural spell that will magic up a world of beauty, a form of horticultural alchemy that never ceases to amaze.
But which bulb where? What varieties, for example, are suitable for a window box, or for beneath the shade of tree or shrub? Which will do well in a large pot or in a mixed border? What about mixing different varieties together in the same container or in the ground? Are there any that need a little cosseting or which will grow happily with minimal intervention?
And what about longevity… are all of them properly perennial or are some best discarded after they’ve finished flowering? See below for some useful suggestions.
For a window box: Treat these containers like gardens in miniature, using species/varieties of bulbs that reflect their compact size and scale. Examples include varieties of snowdrops, scilla, chionodoxa, crocus, hyacinths, anemone (varieties of Anemone blanda and Anemone nemorosa), grape hyacinths (Muscari) and compact varieties of daffodils (examples include Narcissus ‘Tete a Tete’, Narcissus ‘Martinette’ and Narcissus ‘Niveth’), as well as dainty reticulate irises (Iris reticulata) and small tulips such as Tulipa saxatilis.
For a decent display plant the bulbs very generously and much more densely than you would if planting in the ground (so almost touching) and use a really good quality multipurpose compost leavened with plenty of horticultural grit or vermiculite for good drainage. For maximum impact limit your choice to no more than three-four different species/varieties, and plant them
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