Planting a Succession of Spring Flowering Bulbs
Spring: an explosion of color as your bulbs come into bloom. It’s always a delight, but making your spring bloom display last even longer takes a little careful planning when planting fall bulbs. Get your tips for a colorful garden throughout the spring from the experts – you’ll be glad you did!
Early, mid and late season
From daffodils to tulips, from species types to hybrids, spring bulbs can be divided into these three categories. Plan your mixed border for the longest flowering period possible by combining early with mid and late season flowering, and your garden will have stunning flowers throughout the spring. All it takes is a little foresight and a couple of hours spent planting up your bulbs on a crisp fall afternoon.
Early Spring
Snowdrops are among the first flowers to herald the spring, and Crocuses aren’t far behind. Round off your early-blooming display with Dutch Master or February Gold daffodils, but don’t forget to save some space for your later bloomers!
Craving something a little showier to add to your mix? Although most tulips flower from mid to late spring, some of them are ready for action earlier on. Our Early Show Collection or Early Red, Orange, and White varieties ensure you’ll be the first person to have Tulips in your garden next spring.
Does this sound a little complicated? We’ve got a great ‘cheat’ for you. Try the First sign of Spring collection. We include a tapestry of blue and white crocuses mixed with early flowering Tete a Tete daffodils.
Mid-Spring
You’ll be spoiled for choice at this time of the season. Most tulips, daffodils, narcissi, grape hyacinths and crown imperials will be ready to give you a show that’s second to none. But you still want to extend that color display, so leave room for some of the late bloomers – they’re worth waiting for!
Mid-spring highlights include the marvellous Hyacinths that fill the air with their sweet scent. Combine blue, pink or white hyacinths with tulips – it’s a gorgeous sight.
Late spring and early summer
Many of the late tulips such as Abba, Angelique and Black Hero are late bloomers that will help you to finish off your spring bulb display in style, and your Dutch Irises will help you through the transition from mid to late spring with grace. Alliums provide a finale for your spring bulbs as you slip into summer. Choose mixed colors or focus on cool blues and whites with the Around the Globe collection.
Careful planning makes a difference
If you plan carefully, dividing spring into three distinct periods, you’ll have an extended display of colorful bulbs that begins before anyone else’s and continues for longer, seeing you into the summer when the rest of your garden is in full bloom.
When you browse our online assortment of fall planted flower bulbs, you’ll see that we’ve split spring into three ‘seasons’ for you, so it’s simply a matter of checking the flowering times of the bulbs you like best. Choose early, mid and late spring flowers and have a fabulous display of blooms that lasts longer!