Design Ideas with Bulbs

Barbara Wexler-Hall spoke to us last April about bulbs.  Remember her fantastic photos of the Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands?  Fall is the time to think about creating your own little Keukenhof.  Garden centers and catalogs are brimming with choices and here are a few ideas courtesy of American Meadows, www.americanmeadowscom, to make your spring bulb display special. 

Plant bulbs in clusters. Don't plant one bulb alone, or make a long thin line along the walk.  Clusters give a concentration of color for greatest impact.  Even if you don't have enough bulbs for a big bed, small clusters can make a super spring show. 

Plant low bulbs in front of high.  This is a good general rule for bulbs that bloom at the same time.  Bulbs are usually marked with the height of the plant and its approximate flowering time.  Of course there are times to break this rule.  For example if the low growing bulbs bloom early and the tall bulbs bloom late, plant the tall in front.  Their display will camouflage the dying foliage of the smaller bulbs. 

Try a double-decker effect. You can plant small bulbs in a layer right on top of large bulbs. If you plant bulbs that flower in the same period you can create an interesting double-decker effect (picture bright pink tulips blooming above cobalt blue grape hyacinths).  Or you can stagger the bloom time by planting mid- and late-season bloomers together, creating a spring display that blooms in succession, for a whole season of color. 

In the end, what you do with fall bulbs limited only by your imagination. A few hours one brisk autumn afternoon can yield months of colorful excitement in your yard or garden next spring.