Designing Multi Season Bulb Garden
After planting water deeply.
Designing multi season bulb garden. Foliage is your friend. This month s topic stirred the dormancy out of gardeners with a discussion on designing a multi season shade garden by sturbridge resident paul steen. Most shade tolerant perennials bloom early in the season so a shade garden will not be as colorful as a sunny flower garden.
Planning a garden that includes flower bulbs requires consideration. And they re all easy care so you can relax and enjoy the garden instead of spending all your time tending it. Plant large bulbs several inches apart.
A large planting of bulbs such as tulips or daffodils is very effective in a garden but a bulb only flower bed has its problems. To insulate the bulbs in winter cover the bed with at least 4 inches of mulch. Admittedly color through the season is easier to achieve in a sunny garden.
Steen is a certified master gardener with the massachusetts horticultural society. Everyone loves flowers but they just don t last. Soak your bulbs in liquid plant food for half an hour before planting.
You can t cut off the leaves until they turn yellow and floppy which can take a. Read more information about designing with foliage and good foliage plants. Four season container gardens can also provide the option of changing your plantings with each new season.
Bulbs grow flower and go dormant. Plant small bulbs closer together. Spring blooming bulbs can be mixed with summer and fall blooming plants in a mixed container display that provides color well into the cool season in most areas.