It's bulb time

It's that time of year... the time to buy and plant bulbs. I have to admit I haven't really been in the mood, because the weather has been so warm and though it's nearly the end of October, my impatiens are still looking pretty good.

To put bulbs in, I'd have to pull the impatiens out. I also overplant my bulbs with wallflowers, a very popular biennial in the UK. Wallflowers are often used for big mass bedding schemes in municipal and commercial landscapes, but I find they look really lovely mixed in to my regular herbaceous borders. So many times we overlook annuals and biennials just because they are used in 'professional' mass settings. Marigolds, vinca, wallflowers, ageratum... all those old standbys look completely different and are reliable (and inexpensive) performers in a mixed border setting. Here we can buy wallflowers in roughly 10-plant bare root bunches for about £1 a bunch ($1.75 ish). They come in some wonderful colors, reds and oranges and hot yellows. You just stick them in the ground and they bloom in late May/ early June. When they finish blooming, I just rip them up and stick them in the compost heap and by then early annuals and herbaceous perennials will have come on enough to fill in the gaps - or I can fill in with more tender perennials.

Back to bulbs:

Tulips
I bought quite a few tulips and crocus (crocii ?) when I was in Amsterdam a few years ago. That was a wonderful experience, there are blocks of market stalls along the canals that sell nothing but bulbs (along with a modest selection of souvenir wooden shoes). I was like a kid in a candy store. But tulips have a tendency to 'fade out' over time. They aren't the longest lived bulb, particularly with our wet winters. My tulips haven't fared too badly, as my soil is relatively free draining, but it's definitely time to replenish the supply. I want to concentrate on late blooming tulips, as this is the season where I have the most gaps. I really haven't decided yet which colors or kinds.

Daffodils
Although I have quite a few daffodils already and even though my garden is really small, I think you can always squeeze in a few more. I love spring bulbs, to me they signify the renewal of life. Again, I'm particularly looking for later season daffodils and those with a UT orange and white theme. Two varieties that look likely are Semper Avanti (pictured left - image from Bloms Bulbs where I'll probably order) and Geranium.

I saw some unbelievably lovely varieties of orange and white daffs at one of the Spring shows put on by the Royal Horticultural Society. But many were ridiculously expensive by my standards (I think £5 per bulb is pretty dear, but some were a lot more than that) and I imagine that they need a little bit more pampering than I care to give.