Guest Author - Kimberly Cassandra Cannon

Companion planting is a talent used in my garden quite often. With practice, it is a procedure that any gardener can become skilled. The skill of placing the right plants together, having them profit from one another while creating a strong impact, is what one may call companion planting or gardening. It involves planting two or more plants near one another to harmonize each one’s texture, form, color etc.

In other words, they assist each other and benefit in some form. For example, in a vegetable garden, a good companion plant would be marigolds. They have a nasty smell that seems to keep annoying insects away, in turn, giving the veggie gardener beautiful veggies to steam and cook. Nevertheless, bulbs as perfect companions will be discussed in this short article just to give you another reason to make use of them. There is no need to fret or be afraid of using bulbs in your garden. They are ideal and work well in creating your own paradise.

Including bulbs into a cottage garden or an informal border of perennials and annuals can affect in such a way as to bring a remarkable outward show in ones’ garden. Try this formula: the next time you plant spring, summer or fall bulbs, mix them in with other woody type perennials. They will go on giving color when the perennials have concluded their plant life cycle for the season. Here’s the good part, the foliage of the perennial will conceal the bulb’s yellowing foliage as it prepares for the next blooming season and you’ll hardly notice its unattractiveness.

Here are a few partners to pair up: In the springtime, nothing is more transforming than tulips’ stimulating hues, the rainbow colors of daffodils and the provocative scents of hyacinth massed together amongst the soaring slender leaves of several irises. Or how about several “Arabian Night” dahlias next to an Esperanza flowering shrub, (the yellow and deep burgundy tones will bring passersby-pleasure). There is the Canna “Mellow Yellow,” a dwarf type that, planted near bountifuls of lavender, will bring a paler contrast of color. This canna only requires moderate watering (which is good considering lavender is quite drought tolerant), a good yellow and purple combination for the color purple garden lovers.

In the summer, try Catmint in your rock garden to flatter a variation of succulents. Having a dinner-at-dusk party? Why not enjoy the shade garden after dark and the look of “David” garden phlox (pure white florets) massed among a large planting of astilbe. Who can turn down the look of “Alice Oakleaf” hydrangea with any shade of purple clematis? For the winter, try cyclamen planted amongst the fairy faces of pansy.

The sky is the limit for including bulbs in your garden as compliments to either one another or any annual, perennial or evergreen planted nearby.

In closing, let me incorporate just a few guidelines for your garden when companion planting as well: (1) be sure to be careful where you plant annuals in conjunction with bulbs because as we all know here in the warm South, annuals need plenty of water and bulbs hate wet feet. (once I planted some annuals where I had previously planted gladiolus and due to the constant watering of my gorgeous petunias, the constant watering destroyed my gladiolas.)

They were squishy and eventually rotted (only good for the compost pile). (2) mark the spots where bulbs have been planted (I use popsicle sticks with markered writing), this way, you don’t overlook other plants' location and (3) I used to be an advocate of bone meal in the hole before planting a bulb, but now I say, stop, while you’re ahead. The experts seem to think a bulb has everything, and I do mean everything it needs for that first year.

Well, hopefully, as your bulb gardening editor, this article has motivated you to give bulbs another shot in your garden to reflect the wondrous world of gardening. Though it’s too late for the warmer climate gardeners to plant any summer bulbs, the cold-climate gardener is just in time to try out this skill called companion planting. Should you have any other questions or more details you would like to know, why not drop me a line on the bulb gardening forum. We all hope to hear from you there.