Guest Author - Kimberly Cassandra Cannon

Bulbs can be fun to plant. From the selection process of which ones to buy, sharing with family and friends, to finding places to plant them. They are truly a pleasure of treasures to any gardener and garden. They can be found in a landscape, or small patch of earth nearby. They’ve been seen on hillsides with nature as the landscape architect and even in woodlands. The random designs they effectively portray have even be seen near wetlands.

In this article, is an elaboration of the limitless places you can plant any and all bulbs of choice. Perhaps your creativity will be enhanced by planting bulbs in a few places of choice mentioned here.

As far as the gardener, bulbs can be planted in containers and placed on the deck or porch area of a traditional or cottage-like home. Some urban gardeners have also utilized them, up on the rooftop and they have become a conversation piece. As long as dirt is available, bulbs can be a treat everywhere you look or desire a scent of beauty.

Green Carpet:

Now there have been horror stories about certain bulbs not having the slightest of chances due to our friendly yet pesky squirrels that enjoy them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, a bare lawn, in the spring just begs for the challenge of this gardening procedure because of the command that bulbs can bring to lawns. Not only does it give a face-lift to a dormant lawn, it brings early color and naturalizes itself. Isn’t this reason enough to give it a try? Not sure which ones to use? Read on.

Warm-climate gardeners do not have this gratification but the cold-climate garden does. Don’t let squirrels discourage you , instead, try varieties of bulbs that squirrels may not favor the taste of like eranthis (winter aconite) that flowers early for spring splendor and if the height of the eremurus (foxtail lily) doesn’t frighten them, the taste will. Also, the beauty of fritillaria can be deceptive until you get close enough to sniff it; it smells of skunk and how can we forget the well-known narcissus (daffodils).

As far as which ones to try in your lawn, try the crocus Tomasinianus: Barr’s purple and Ruby Giant that soon precedes the winter aconite in spring bulb beauty. Can you imagine the delight and anticipation of both their magnificence every spring?

In taking up for nature, squirrels have their place in the natural world and are providers of families too. They just want a piece of food to feed to their families and a piece of our garden to hide it.

Landscape bulb-bloom:

The most familiar method of bulb gardening is in the landscape. From borders to island beds, to underneath deciduous trees. With a backdrop of evergreens, the color of spring bulbs are simply breathtaking as hues of dark green intensify the color in them planted weeks before. The intensity of color is remarkable.

As for deciduous trees, due to their leaf shortage, rain that comes quite often in spring, will reach the understory of bulbs planted and become a moisture additive as well as the sun that peaks through the limbs as well, bringing just enough light for a flush of blooms. Bring thrill to your garden in this sometimes uninteresting place underneath your tree but don’t expect them to last year to year, as this is a very competitive spot to thrive with all the tree roots in expansion every year.

Instead of just having cool-season annuals planted as your border, why not emphasize them with colorful soldiers of bulbs planted randomly beside and behind them. Be sure to coordinate the color schemes and become the chatter of the neighborhood in creative bulb-gardening.

Bulbs contained:

Can that really be? Bulbs contained? Certainly not but they can be used in containers that can be placed just about anywhere in the landscape or merely on the patio, porch, deck or even at the door to greet visitors. Plant specialty bulbs that are pleasurably scented and will carry inside the home every time the door is opened. This is also a good idea for the urban gardener who doesn’t have a plot of land.

Simply choose a glazed container or even some clay pots (the bigger the container the better for bulbs) to plant bulbs in and be careful if you reside in a known freezing area of the country, as the container-pots are known to crack under such elements. Add good, quality soil ¾ of the way and apply a slow-release fertilizer like Osmocote, sprinkled at the top and cultivated into the soil before planting the bulbs of your choosing. Then, add soil until the tips of the bulbs are exposed. Water and Walla! Await the exquisiteness to render itself in a matter of weeks.

Conclusively bulbs:

Yes, bulbs can be planted anywhere and everywhere. There are no limits. Just be sure to follow a few tips: be sure to plant early, midseason and late varieties for extended bloom all season and don’t forget to add cool-season annuals to your containers after planting bulbs. This can begin the show before the main act comes onto stage. Last but not least, when planting in beds and containers that will be seen from all sides, be sure to plant the taller bulbs in the middle with shorter ones at the edge; that way the temporary beauty can be enjoyed from all sides and its endless delight to be remembered for years.