Planting in the green
THE majority of spring-flowering bulbs are bought and planted while they are dry and dormant in autumn, but a few are traditionally planted ‘in the green’ or in growth. Some, such as the rhizomes of wood anemone and lily of the valley, may have little more than a bud on their underground stems, while snowdrop and winter aconite bulbs are lifted with plenty of leaf just before, during or after flowering. They are dug from nursery beds and sent out bare-rooted in pots or bundles in late winter or spring.
Covered in growth
The term ‘in the green’ is an old one, meaning covered in growth. As part of English 18th century May Day celebrations, milkmaids wearing pyramid-shaped decorations on their heads would garland pails with leaves and flowers. By the early 1800s,
