Turn on the Lights

In the heat of summer it may seem premature to think of planting bulbs, but it is wise to start planning ahead if you would like a good show next spring. Demand for bulbs has increased over the past 18 months, and competition among retailers for wholesale supply has been stiff. While this doesn’t mean stocks will be limited, it does indicate that popular varieties could sell out somewhat sooner than expected.

Spring bulbs are wide ranging and endlessly adaptable. The smallest, most delicate and often earliest are best suited to table-top displays in fetching containers, while those that are native or inclined to naturalise will populate a meadow or large border with drops of colour as refreshing as a fruit sorbet on a hot day. To beds and borders they bring extraordinary colour and form as spring planting re-emerges.

Key to a successful scheme is an understanding of the sequential flowering of bulbs in relation to varieties within a, and ending with late tulips such as ‘Queen of Night’. In beds, alliums and camassia extend the show further. Work on selections for early-, middle- and late-flowering bulbs, with two to three varieties of each for containers and borders.