Better Ways with Bulbs
Order your bulbs early! So sad to be told that your fancy Fritillaria or your awesome Allium is out of stock….Incidentally, Alliums are a great value! Nothing eats them and they multiply reliably with each passing year! Both Alliums and Daffys are distasteful to rodents and deer because they contain alkaloids.
Bulbs should be the last plants you add to your border because their yearly disappearing act means you will, trust me you will, forget where you planted them. You’ll find yourself spearing a Daffy bulb or unearthing and wounding a grouping of innocent crocuses.
So where do you plant your bulbs in an established border? You throw away your bulb planter and replace it with a garden spade and you layer your bulbs. Dig an 8”deep dinner plate sized hole and, for example, you place 6 Daffys in a circle around the edges. Then you place a Fritillaria Crown imperial in the center and fill 2 inches of soil in your hole. Next, plant 12 bulbs of Chinodoxa (glory-of-the-snow) or another late-winter or early spring bulb. Add 2 more inches of soil, then plant 2 dozen Galanthus (snow drops) or crocuses. Finally fill in the hole with soil. You can choose to add a layer of compost to the planting.
Layering the bulbs in the soil produces a magnificent succession of bloom in a small space. And all the bulbs are happy-they aren’t crowded, since each occupies its preferred soil level!
Happy Planting 🌞
Pam