Has anyone tried growing a garden with only a sequence of blooming bulbs throughout the season? I guess it can be done.
I have taken out a Kwanzan Cherry Tree that was destroyed by borers. So, basically, I could plant lots of bulbs there. One can not plant many bulbs around trees that are already established due to tree roots. So, now is the time to make plans for a bulb garden and get the bulbs ordered for fall planting.
I'd like to hear experiences and recommendations.
Garden w only Bulbs
Hi.
I have bulbs blooming for months. Between muscari, squills, crocuses, daffs, alliums, various types of lilies, glads (especially abbyssian, which I find a lot cooler than classic glads, have a scent and need no staking), chionodoxa, ornigothalem, camassia (several types, including semiplena, which blooms a lot later than the single flowered ones) leucojum 'Gravetye Giant and some I'm probably forgetting, I always have something in bloom. Right now it's several kinds of lilies, which for me bloom from June to early September.
I eliminated hyacinths (need companion plants and don't return well) and I don't include bulbs that are too small to make an impact like trout lilies or snowdrops or that stink (frittilaria). I also eliminated the invasive (spanish and english bluebells) and things that are are out of character (dahlias).
Lists of bulb sequence bloom will help. I know that there is one in the Brent and Becky Bulbs catalog, lots in books and probably many on line.
The trick is to have many kinds of bulbs and many types within those bulbs. Happily, they are cheap.
Thanks, Donna. I have B&B catalog and will check it out. I'm not sure I want to go with a bulb only garden. I think it might be kind of fun, but it would take some time planning. Once those bulbs are in the ground, it's pretty much over except for fertilizing occasionally. But then, there's the "naturalizing" effect also. I am not sure how that would develop.
"many types of bulbs" I think you mean various species?
I'm surprised you didn't mention tulips. Or, heck, maybe it's because they don't reliably return.
Once a bulb garden is planted, there wouldn't be much digging.
I left out tulips because, except for species, I dig them up. I have left tulip turkestanica in for years. When I did dig them up, I would see that they had multiplied. It was kind of freaky - there is a bulb, and then what looks like string, and then another bulb.
Yes, I'm sorry I wasn't clear about the types. There are several colors of chionodoxa, for example (don't go with the violet ones - they are very weak). And lots of kinds of camassia. I just kept adding them over the years.
I am thinking of doing a permanent planting of a species tulip down a pathway. I already took a lot of chasmanthium latifolium and put them down the path. It seeds like crazy here, and I wanted to do something with it. It is tremendously drought tolerant, so I do nothing for it.
No digging in 6b eliminates a lot - without the dahlias, fall will be difficult, at least until Colchicum turns up. With the Glads you'll be limited to the eurasians - Gladiolus communis and G. palustris are hardy, but both bloom in May where you'll have lots of other stuff to choose from. Eucomis autumnalis may stand a chance in 6b. Lycoris sqamingera and sprengeri may work. Arum has some autumn appeal due to the red berries.
If you don't mind the "out of character" for "bulbs" (dangerous therm. if you're pedantic on the definition, Gladiolus and crocus are corms, no bulbs. But I'd stretch the borders by saying geophytes, which is what most people mean when saying bulbs) I'd add Liatris, and maybe Asclepias tuberosum.
As for Invasiveness: I'd agree on Hyacinthoides, but both Chinodoxa and Camassia may be agressive, too. Not to mention some of the Alium species...
If you are willing to digg, there's a lot more to work with. Eucomis, of course, if you're compatible with their smell (@ Donna: The smell of Frittilaria is one of those people react on very differently - I never had any trouble. so one could try...). I personally adore Tigridia pavonia - but don't use them in groups less than 30 if you want reliable flowering. A smaller but more floriferous version of them would be Cypella Herbertii
I personally have not found chionodoxa to be invasive in zone 5a. It seems to gently increase, and I am actually having problesm with them returning here. I have two kinds of camassia and have had them for years. Any increase seems to be mild. I have actually ordered more camassia quamash because it did not reproduce to my satisfaction.
Allium Christophii and ramosum seed a lot. I personally love this, because they have small rootballs. Ramosum is hard to get rid of because when it blooms the bulbs are hard to get at; I used to end up tearing out the leaves but not getting the bulbs. Part of it is timing - ramosum blooms in fall so it's difficult to get to until after it blooms.. But christophii is so easy that I have dug them up in anything from seedling form to full out bloom to move them where I want them to be. They pop up in spring, sometimes in cluster, and I carefully dig them up and put them where I want them to be.