That nip is in the air and fall is upon us! Now is the perfect time to add some spring and summer bulbs to your perennial flower beds. One of the most frequent mistakes made by new gardeners is bulb planting. Have you ever gone to a Botanical Garden in spring? Is your breath taken away with a tulip here and a daffodil there? No. What is more impressive is massive plantings of either multiple bulbs or a stream of blooms flowing in the gentle spring breeze.

Here are some bulbs that my sweetheart planted just for me. He was moving a fence that had been built at least 50 years ago, and it was covered with neglected flowers. I called family members in to gather some to replant in their gardens, but I never considered moving the bulbs in the heat of summer. Sometimes, if you think you can, anything is possible. Jim knew what the flowers meant to me, so there was my beloved husband, who doesn’t take the heat well, planting daffodils on a humid summer afternoon. By all rights, not one bulb should have made it but here is a photo of them this spring arranged near our new concrete driveways.

While they are planted much too deep, I will never touch them as they represent the best part of marriage, the compassion you feel for the other spouse that motivates you to present them with especially sweet gifts like these flowers. Every time I looked at them last spring, they brought a smile to my face. What a thoughtful gift!

He just tossed them into one hole, so he was doing a massive planting without knowing it. If you can only afford one section, start there and make it impressive by going for the dramatic effect. Please note that most tulips should be considered in our area as annuals. Unless they state that they are perennials, they are not cultivated in such a manner that they will continue to gain strength even if you allow all their spent leaves to brown down naturally. The way most bulbs are harvested is simply not conducive to them producing more than two to three years even under the best of conditions.

Therefore I stick with alliums, daffodils and summer bulbs instead of spending the bulk of my garden budget on tulips. I do plant some as they are spectacular knowing that they are temporary. Remember to log the plantings into your garden journal with bloom date included.

The best way to plant bulbs in mass is to dig a trench to the depth recommended on the package. Add a bone meal and compost to help them gain root growth before winter. Take a handful of bulbs and toss them into the trench, this gives a more natural look. Take each bulb and make sure the tops are pointed heavenwards and that each bulb is pressed into the soil. Cover them up and stamp down gently with your boot. Mulching is not necessary but is helpful to keep the beds weed free in spring. Allium, daffodils and narcissus are also deer and mole/vole resistant.

Hope you drop into Buchheit soon to discover their array of spring and summer bulbs for fall planting. Enjoy the path to the simple life today, spend some time outside in the garden!

Be blessed! Anne May