Guest Author - Kimberly Cassandra Cannon
My husband every once in awhile reminisces of the daffodil patch his mother carefully created in their northern garden. It is still displayed to this day every spring faithfully. Although nature has called her away, (she died several years ago), still remaining are the dark green leaves of those cheerful visual delights, called daffodils.
They’ve emerged from several to now a family of blooms. Ms. Mattie (I called her) created a naturalizing bulb garden and this is the focus of this article. Which ones naturalize where to plant them and to spark your interest in developing this type of garden in your own backyard.
What does naturalize mean?
It can refer to the informality of one’s design with a bulb that self-propagates. Meaning it reproduces itself each season into whatever piece of soil is nearby. Each year the garden patch expands as if nature itself was the landscaper.
To mimic this fun technique, all one has to do is first select the bulbs that naturalize. Here they are according to season.
Spring bulbs that naturalize:
crocus, daffodils, bluebells, wild hyacinth, starflower, quamash, cusick camass, glory-of-the-snow, snowdrops, spring starflower, grape hyacinth, dog-toothed violet, guinea hen flower, iris (specific types), common snowdrop (late winter/early spring), Spanish bluebells, striped squill and Siberian squill.
Summer bulbs and fall bulbs that naturalize:
alliums, anemones, irises (latifolia), starflower, star of Bethlehem, showy autumn crocus (autumn) and meadow saffron (autumn).
Designing with naturalizing bulbs:
Because of the informal designs one can use in their garden, there is no wrong or right way to design but there are some things to know. First off, because of the simplicity of planting a bulb once and enjoying forever, gives almost no thought to creative landscape designing. To plant bulbs for the most intriguing displays yet informal, is to plant randomly. As long as there is soil, you can plant drifts, clusters even rows of bulbs.
Where to plant:
Nothing is more natural than planting clusters under trees. I have several under my own pine trees. They are amazing and colorful. But don’t stop there, the plain is the limit. Try some in a woodland area or if you live up north or in a cold climate, start with the lawn. Most cool-season grasses are hideous during winter/early spring, why not let the naturalization of bulbs give you something of beauty to glare at during those dreary days. As they multiply, the results will look better.
Crocus are perfect for lawns considering your lawn is not dense and the deciduous trees have yet to put on their leaves. So go for it!
Bulbs like snowdrops and winter aconite can give you a colorful carpet right under all those deciduous trees. Just remember, to plant randomly. No perfect speculation allowed here. My mother-in-law (Ms. Mattie), I’m sure took special care in placing them right where she wanted them, arranging them to her own specification and planted them right as they lay.
What types of tools to use:
Although I did an article once on bulb tools, this one tool, is all that is needed, a narrow trowel is best. Once you dig into the soil, removing either grass or dirt from their place, you simply tuck in the bulb and replace the grass and/or dirt but if you want to plant drifts or even clusters of bulbs, removing one large part of grass and/or dirt at one time may be better and faster.
Some final tips:
(1) Be sure to buy only healthy bulbs. Leave the soft and mushy ones behind – a healthy bulb will always be firm;
(2) Shop early to take advantage of getting the best in the bunch;
(3) Only order from a reputable online manufacturer (see my article on plant catalogs) – this can save you lots of money;
(4) Plant as soon as you can and if you can’t, put them away in a cool place but not too long now and once they are planted and start to grow, be sure to water deeply and less often;
(5) Big tip: muscari and tulips are stunning when planted in mass;
(6) Bulbs are not too picky but it’s still a good thing to provide them a suitable site (sun for sun lovers, shade for shade lovers, dry soil for dry bulbs and wetter conditions for bulbs that can handle moisture) and they will reward your garden for years to come; and most importantly,
(7) Prep the soil. This is a redundant saying of mine, but is very important. Making preparation for the soil to be planted in is the single most vital task in gardening. Soils become depleted over time and need required nutrients to help bulbs, flower, plants, shrubs and trees, flourish. So, please take care of this step first and foremost. Not sure what to do, take a look at several articles on my site about soil amending and preparation. This will help your investment of gardening last for years.
