Planning
- Firstly, decide where you will be planting your bulbs so you'll know how many you need.
- They prefer full sun and adequate soil drainage.
- Think about their eventual height; tall bloomers should be planted to the back of the border or bed and short bloomers to the front, however if your bulb bed can be viewed from all sides put your taller bulbs in the middle.
- Think about bloom times; you should include bulbs with different bloom times to have continuous colour in your garden, as bulbs will only bloom for a few weeks. Include bulbs that bloom early spring, late spring, early summer and late summer. Don't plant them in the same hole, but if you time it correctly a bulb should bloom as another is ending.
- Plant bulbs in groups to create drifts of colour but avoid lining them up in strict rows as they will perform much better when planted in undefined shapes and look more pleasing on the eye.
- Always plant what you think is too many bulbs, as you'll always wish you planted more come spring.
- Plant bulbs in your lawn, under trees and shrubs and amongst your perennials.
Planting your bulbs
- The best way to give your bulbs a head start is to follow the straightforward steps on the packaging.
- Double check the plant's desired depth, this varies from plant to plant, in general the bigger the bulb the deeper the hole.
- Check the amount of space they need and the optimum conditions.
- Dig your hole using a good tool, loosening the soil around it also.
- Mix in compost and organic matter
- The bulbs will have enough nutrients of their own, so should not need fertilizer.
- Plant the bulb with the pointy end facing upwards (if you're not sure, don't worry nature will usually work it out for you).
- Loosely cover with soil.
- Dig a shallow moat around the bulb and water until this is full.
- When this has emptied fill in the rest of the soil and pack lightly.
- Finish with a thorough final watering.
Caring for your bulb garden
- Water as often as instructions indicate
- Carry out a yearly fertilization
- When your plant has finished its bloom, only remove the brown leaves as the green leaves are busy gathering nutrients to store in the bulb for next years flower
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