Next year’s garden may seem far away, however you can get it off to a great start by planting magnificent bulbs this fall. Some add much-anticipated color to the bare winter landscape, others jazz up summer boundaries, and others blossom into fall. A number of these options will gradually naturalize if left to drift softly through borders and beds. In moist, well-drained soil, colonization often comes quickly.
Overall, bulbs make few requirements aside from well-drained soil. Simply dig a pit in an appropriate location, plant in accordance with package directions, add a light dab of 10-10-10 fertilizer, water, and then forget about it. The bulbs will take it out there and delight you with their vivid surprise.
Clinton & Associates, PC Landscape Architects
Ornamental Onions
Allium
Simultaneously architectural and lively, those oblong, spherical, or globular flower shapes are a versatile addition to any garden. Plus, they’re deer resistant and drought tolerant, and they come in great colors. Sizes vary greatly by number, and bloom times range to fall.
There are lots of notable favorite ornamental onions, including ‘Globemaster’ (pictured here) with its huge purple spheres on 3- to 4-foot stems. Mix it together with other early summer plantings in shades of pink and purple, like roses, peonies, iris, dianthus and cranesbill geranium. Another favorite is the yellowish allium (allium flavum), a midsummer bloomer that grows as many as 2 feet high and offers clusters of yellow, pink or white florets.
USDA zones: 5 to 10 (find your zone)
Sun requirement: Full to partial shade
Height: 1 to 4 ft
Bloom time: Spring, summer or fall
Planting tips: Plant a little deeper than other bulbs, about three times the measurement of the bulb.
B. Gardening Landscape Design
Crown Imperial
Fritillaria imperallis
The showiest member of the fritillaria household, the crown imperial is a exotic-looking plant that produces clusters of pendulous 4-inch orange, yellow or reddish blossoms beneath a spiky crown of green leaves. Plant in groupings and hide dying foliage with leafy companion crops, such as ornamental grasses, ferns and hostas. Deer-resistant, the crown imperial’s leaves emit a skunklike odor when crushed.
USDA zones: 3 to 8
Sun requirement: Full to partial shade
Height: 2 to 4 ft
Bloom time: April and May
Planting tips: Plant quickly to prevent drying out. Tip the bulb or put on its side to keep water from pooling in the upper indent.
Botanical Tulips
Species tulips
Often overshadowed by their taller cousins, species tulips are nonetheless much longer lived. In fact, while hybrid tulips tend to fizzle after a couple of years, these wildflower variants frequently multiply if their foliage is permitted to die back naturally. Species tulips add bold color to rock gardens and casual borders. Standouts include cultivars of Tulipa batalinii, like the yellow ‘Bright Gem’ (pictured here) and ‘Yellow Jewel’. Good choices for naturalizing include T. clusiana and the fragrant T. sylvestris.
USDA zones: 3 to 8
Sun need: Full sun, part sun
Height: 4 to 14 inches
Bloom time: April and May
Planting tips: In wet climates, dig and keep inactive bulbs to replant in the fall.
Ginkgo Leaf Studio
Camas, Quamash, Wild Hyacinth
Camassia
These tall stalks with cream or blue flowering racemes seem striking in mass. Plant in the center of boundaries with daylilies, peonies or hostas that can cover any foliage that is dying. Camas is also right at home in moist meadows, in woodlands and beside streams where it can naturalize. Notable types include ‘Blue Danube’ (pictured here) and ‘Alba’, a creamy white.
USDA zones: 3 to 11
Sun need: Full sun to light shade
Height: 2 to 4 ft
Bloom time: May and June
Planting tips: Camassia does nicely in well-drained soil, but it can also flourish in moist soil.
Barbara Pintozzi
Resurrection Lily, Naked Lady Lily, Surprise Lily
Lycoris squamigera
Blooming following its leaves have withered and disappeared, this trumpet-shaped blossom rises from dormancy to generate a dramatic late-summer showing. Plant these long-lived members of the amaryllis family in boundaries or from woodland gardens where they can naturalize.
USDA zones: 5 to 9
Sun requirement: Full sun to part shade
Height: as many as 2 ft
Bloom time: August and September
Planting tips: Bulbs do not like being disturbed and might require a full season to correct until they bloom.
Beertje Vonk Artist
Snowdrop
Galanthus
One of the first harbingers of spring, the delicate-looking snowdrop is difficult enough to poke through snow from Northern gardens and also to bloom through winter in the South. Snowdrop makes a stylish addition to meadows, beds and borders. If you have snowdrop blossoms to spare in spring, think about digging the flowering bulbs with soil intact to move to an indoor container. (The flowers likely will not last so long as they’d outside, however you will be able to appreciate them often.)
Favorite types incorporate the trustworthy Galanthus nivalis that propagates gradually and also the bigger-flowered ‘Sam Arnott’ with heart-shaped green markings.
USDA zones: 3 to 9
Sun requirement: Full sun to full shade, depending on number
Height: 5 to 12 inches
Bloom time: February and March
Planting tips: Bulbs are delicate, so plant as soon as possible.