Victorian Garden Tips: Fall is Bulb Planting Time

Fall is here, even if I hate to admit it, and it is time to start thinking about planting those bulbs for spring of next year, so I thought I'd pass along some tips and reminders.

Most of our bulb species prefer a well drained , not soggy , soil, and the location should have at least six hours of sun a day from spring through summer. You need to plan ahead and look at what your light levels will be in summer when the trees have leafed out. You want to make sure the bulbs will not be in the shade when the leaves still need the sun to make energy for next year's flowers.

I find that digging up the whole bed makes the bulb spacing, layering and soil amending easier. The depth of your holes should equal three to four times the bulb height, but pay attention to the bulb supplier's recommendations.

Set your bulbs in the planting bed or in separate planting holes with their roots or basal plate downward. If it's not sure which way is up, lay the bulb on its side. Fill the planting hole with soil and tamp it gently.

You want to plant a variety of bulbs to extend your flowering season. I like daffodils and Tulips, and you should include some early-flowering bulbs - such as grape hyacinths, crocuses, snowdrops and scilla - to herald the start of spring. Late-flowering alliums will continue to show into early summer.

Now, we are planting on our bulbs being on our front hillside, therefore we want to leave space so we can plant our groundcovers in the spring. Our goal is to have an attractive front yet keep it as low maintenance as possible as the rest of the garden areas are more 'designed' and require more maintenance.