griffon said:

What are some good groundcovers to plant above tulips, big floppy
crocus, etc? Some of the groundcovers I have tried just didn't work
too well, they were too aggressive. There are a few areas where I
have a lot of bulbs for spring but really there is nothing there after
the bulbs stop blooming.

Late emerging perennials (depending on the sun exposure) -- ones
that die back completely (leaving no rosette of leaves) and emerge
slowly when the weather improves.

Hostas can work in areas that are shaded by trees in summer.
Ceratostigma plumbaginoides (leadwort, 'hardy plumbago') might work
in those areas, too. This one does like to spread around a bit, but
isn't so agressive that the bulbs can't come up through it.

For sunnier areas late-emergers like balloon flower (and butterfly weed
(Asclepias tuberosa) might fit the bill.

Or, you might consider woody flowering plants that get cut back hard every
year (like Buddleia or Caryopteris).

And don't forget annual bedding plants! Start some later than normal and
set them out as the bulb foliage ripens. (I'm partial to dwarf Cosmos and
various types of Salvia as they don't seem to get eaten up by bunnies and
earwigs.)
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
(attributed to Don Marti)

try Herman's pride Lamium, or Anne Greenaway. Makes a mat of varigation but
all bulbs can poke thru it. Dry shade would be Epimedium's. A bit more
thatchy in roots but some bulbs can compete just fine. Ajuga is good too.
Makes a great ground cover, has blue flowers in spring and depending on the
variety, very nice foliage. I even have a patch of Lemon verbena that covers
too much ground that bulbs come up thru just fine, and if I don't want it
everywhere, I pull out what I don't want and cook with some, enjoy the smell
and compost the rest.
madgardener up on the ridge, back in Fairy HOller overlooking English
Mountain in Eastern Tennessee, zone 7, Sunset zone 36

--
Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect." Chief Seattle
"griffon" wrote in message
...
What are some good groundcovers to plant above tulips, big floppy
crocus, etc? Some of the groundcovers I have tried just didn't work
too well, they were too aggressive. There are a few areas where I
have a lot of bulbs for spring but really there is nothing there after
the bulbs stop blooming.

Hello

"madgardener" wrote in message ...
try Herman's pride Lamium, or Anne Greenaway. Makes a mat of varigation but
all bulbs can poke thru it. Dry shade would be Epimedium's. A bit more
thatchy in roots but some bulbs can compete just fine. Ajuga is good too.
Makes a great ground cover, has blue flowers in spring and depending on the
variety, very nice foliage. I even have a patch of Lemon verbena that covers
too much ground that bulbs come up thru just fine, and if I don't want it
everywhere, I pull out what I don't want and cook with some, enjoy the smell
and compost the rest.
madgardener up on the ridge, back in Fairy HOller overlooking English
Mountain in Eastern Tennessee, zone 7, Sunset zone 36

--
Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect." Chief Seattle
"griffon" wrote in message
...
What are some good groundcovers to plant above tulips, big floppy
crocus, etc? Some of the groundcovers I have tried just didn't work
too well, they were too aggressive. There are a few areas where I
have a lot of bulbs for spring but really there is nothing there after
the bulbs stop blooming.

One problem with companion plant groundcovers with bulbs is the companions
will often need watering through summer when some if not most bulbs are
dormant & regular watering would cause them to rot.

I've found ornamental strawberries can get by without TOO much summer
watering, plus can bloom spring through autumn.
http://www.paghat.com/strawberrylipstick.html

Campnula poscharskyana, or Serbian bellflower, also thrives with spring
moisture & summer droughtiness, & in my zone blooms for about six months
right into the heart of autumn.
http://www.paghat.com/campanula10.html

Dwarf lemon thyme is a good groundcover companion for the sorts of tulips
that need it very dry in summer.

Ballotta nigra 'Variegata' is a loosely trailing groundcover; the root
remains a clump but the branchings can cover a four by four foot area, & I
have it planted with two-foot or taller tulips.
http://www.paghat.com/horehoundvar.html

Several other herbs do well in lots of sun without need of too much
watering & remain short enough & not too densely rooted that they do well
well over bulbs. Such as Tricolor marjorum:
http://www.paghat.com/marjoram.html

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
Visit the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com

"paghat" wrote in message
news
One problem with companion plant groundcovers with bulbs is the companions
will often need watering through summer when some if not most bulbs are
dormant & regular watering would cause them to rot.

I've found ornamental strawberries can get by without TOO much summer
watering, plus can bloom spring through autumn.
http://www.paghat.com/strawberrylipstick.html

Campnula poscharskyana, or Serbian bellflower, also thrives with spring
moisture & summer droughtiness, & in my zone blooms for about six months
right into the heart of autumn.
http://www.paghat.com/campanula10.html

Dwarf lemon thyme is a good groundcover companion for the sorts of tulips
that need it very dry in summer.

Ballotta nigra 'Variegata' is a loosely trailing groundcover; the root
remains a clump but the branchings can cover a four by four foot area, & I
have it planted with two-foot or taller tulips.
http://www.paghat.com/horehoundvar.html

Several other herbs do well in lots of sun without need of too much
watering & remain short enough & not too densely rooted that they do well
well over bulbs. Such as Tricolor marjorum:
http://www.paghat.com/marjoram.html


Companions that don't require water?

Dianthus, Campanulas, Lavendulas, rock soapwort, salvia, violas (rampant
self seeder), herbaceous pontentilla (very sprawly and long lasting) are all
things I found work well with the bulbs. I assume this is full sun. I
don't water any of these and they don't seem to need it.

I just sow sweet alyssum and california poppies in late fall or very early
spring over bulbs. These plants are well-established and even blooming by
the time that the bulb foliage peters out, and don't need too much
supplemental water - although in my low-humidity western climate, watering
does not appear to rot bulbs out anyway.