The Tulips Of Spring

Tulips are an exciting spring flower.  They have three different bloom times depending on the variety early spring , mid spring, and late spring . This makes for some exciting possibilities in your spring flower garden.  By choosing the right variety you can time the blooms to coincide with other spring flowering plants. This can result in a very attractive and unique display which will have the neighbors jealous and people stopping on the street to look.

One of my favorite designs is to mix 2 or 3 colors of tulips together and then plant in groups of 6, 9, or 15 bulbs in different areas throughout the flower bed. Each group should be a little bit different a shape so they look random instead of uniform. This will look more natural. I once did a corner bed with a mix of tulips called stop the car. The mix was orange and purple tulips. I dug up the whole bed at once and planted 400 tulips in the bed. Then I covered the bed back over. The bed was crescent shaped . When they came up in the spring the effect was spectacular. I received more complements from that bed it really was something.

Another really great idea is to plant early tulips with other early spring flowering plants such as white anemones and red tulips the tulips will look like they are floating above a sea of white. Very attractive. You can really mix other bulbs as well that will bloom just before the tulips such as hyacinths.  The hyacinths will bloom and fill the area with some early color not to mention the incredible fragrance and then be followed by the tulips.

For shade beds why not plant early spring tulips between Hostas and Astilbes  as the tulips are fading these plants will come up and cover the tulips as the leaves start to fade and go brown. This is also a good way to add color that would liven up a shady area before the leaves start to emerge on the trees.

Some Quick Tips

Tulips like a quick draining  soil they do not do well with soggy conditionsUsually Tulips put on their best show the first year treat them as annuals and replace every year for the best displays.Always plant in thick cluster 4 or 5 bulbs wide avoid single row planting it does not  look very impressive.Plant your tulips at a depth that is twice the width of the bulbs usually 4? to 6? deep.Try both complementary and contrasting color blends to draw attention to your beds.

Using these ideas will give you a beautiful array of color and a full color show next spring that will surely impress every one and really please you!

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