F&F prepares for a stunning spring by planting hundreds of new bulbs. To my knowledge, only a few daffodils pop up in this garden in the spring. There certainly weren’t very many spring bulbs when we visited as buyers, and since I’ve already created four big new beds, I know those spots in the garden have no bulbs at all. In the autumn, I planted a series of new spring bulbs from Plant Me Now. Here’s the list: Crocus Striped Allium Graceful Beauty Allium Collection Snowdrop (Galanthus Nivalis) Collection Fritillaria Meleagris Tulip Queen of the Night Tulip Spring Green Tulip Black Parrot Tulip Wedding Gift Tulip Ice Cream Tulip Humilis Persian Pearl Allium Purple Sensation Galanthus Nivalis Flore Pleno I got cracking on with the Fritillaria, the daffodils and the snowdrops in late September, but waited until November to plant the tulips and the alliums as they were going in the long border together in a mix and tulips shouldn’t be planted out until November to avoid fire blight. I want the border to be full of natural drifts and mixes of flowers, so I mixed all the bulbs together in a box. Because we are on poor chalky soil with heavy clay, every digging is an opportunity to add better soil into the mix. I try to keep my borders as no-dig as possible, but given you’ve got to dig deep to put a bulb in, you might as well fill the hole up with well-rotted compost so the plant has nutrients and that good quality new soil is mixed by the worms into the surrounding area. When the frosts kill back more of the herbaceous plants, these borders will get a good mulch on top anyway, which will be pulled down into the soil by those hardworking worms. I can’t wait to see the mixtures of flower shapes and colours thrown up by this planting. I have tried to plant the bulbs in between really vigorous leafy plants like the fennels and the peonies because those plants will help disguise the foliage as it dies back after flowering, and keep the border looking fresh and pretty. Share this:Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)MoreClick to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Leave a Reply Cancel reply