Hi there,

i have quite a large border that is now 2 summers old with mainly shrubs in. Contents include bamboo, spirea, photinia, dogwoods, choysia, fuschia, salix, various grasses, hostas etc. So as you can probably imagine, theres plenty of "green" but no genuine splashes of colour.

As there is no room anymore shrubs/plants, i thought about using bulbs to give me the splashes of colour i require thru the seasons.

Although, knowing nothing about bulbs i'm a little stuck.

Ideally i'd like to plant bulbs in the gaps for all year round colour if thats possible, so Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter (not sure if there are such things as winter bulbs???)

Spring could easily covered by Dafs and Tulips i suppose and i really like the look of Lillies for autumn.

A quick scan thru the parkers catalogue brings the following to my attention: Anemone for Mar/Apr, Cyclamen for spring or autumn, crocus for spring and Sparaxis for May & June.

Can anyone recommend any other these and/or anything that i should investigate?

Is my theory of getting all year round splashes of colour a valid one?

And finally, could someone please explain what "naturalising" means?

Many thanks for you time

On 16/9/06 19:39, in article , "Zarch"
wrote:


Hi there,

i have quite a large border that is now 2 summers old with mainly
shrubs in. Contents include bamboo, spirea, photinia, dogwoods,
choysia, fuschia, salix, various grasses, hostas etc. So as you can
probably imagine, theres plenty of "green" but no genuine splashes of
colour.

As there is no room anymore shrubs/plants, i thought about using bulbs
to give me the splashes of colour i require thru the seasons.

Although, knowing nothing about bulbs i'm a little stuck.

Ideally i'd like to plant bulbs in the gaps for all year round colour
if thats possible, so Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter (not sure if
there are such things as winter bulbs???)

Spring could easily covered by Dafs and Tulips i suppose and i really
like the look of Lillies for autumn.

Depending on which you choose you can have snow drops over a lengthy period.
As you say, in Autumn, there are Cyclamen coum and Nerine sarniensis and in
Spring, narcissus of all types, tulips and Muscari. Summer could bring you
Agapanthus, as long as there is enough sun and enough room. You might be
trying to overcrowd your border, however. You might like to consider moving
some of those shrubs to give yourself a little more flexibility, if that's
what you want.

A quick scan thru the parkers catalogue brings the following to my
attention: Anemone for Mar/Apr, Cyclamen for spring or autumn, crocus
for spring and Sparaxis for May & June.

Can anyone recommend any other these and/or anything that i should
investigate?

Is my theory of getting all year round splashes of colour a valid one?

And finally, could someone please explain what "naturalising" means?

Naturalising means that many bulbs increase naturally by means of making
their own baby bulbs.


--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
http://www.discoverdartmoor.co.uk/

Zarch wrote:
Can anyone recommend any other these and/or anything that i should
investigate?

I've no more room, so I use lots of pots that I move around now ...!
But in the grasses I have alliums, lots of different ones - some are
sensitive to depth so make sure you plant at the right depth; I use
crocosmia to bring bold red colours where it's a bit dark (I like tall
flowers).

Is my theory of getting all year round splashes of colour a valid one?

Sure, but you can also achieve this with wild flowers and perenials,
like you already have. Lychnis, the rose campion one has an amazing
colour and self seed. Perhaps that's what you should look into. If they
seed where you don't want, just move them. I've found my garden growing
by itself in this way and giving me splashes of colours by itself )

"Zarch" wrote in message
...

Hi there,

i have quite a large border that is now 2 summers old with mainly
shrubs in. Contents include bamboo, spirea, photinia, dogwoods,
choysia, fuschia, salix, various grasses, hostas etc. So as you can
probably imagine, theres plenty of "green" but no genuine splashes of
colour.

As there is no room anymore shrubs/plants, i thought about using bulbs
to give me the splashes of colour i require thru the seasons.
Zarch
Why not try some ipomea - a bit like bindweed but not invasive - which will
climb through your shrubs and give a welcome splash of colour. especially
the red variety (cant recall its name) the blue morning glory is also a
lovely thing to climb up through shrubbery.
Jim

In article , Zarch
writes

A quick scan thru the parkers catalogue brings the following to my
attention: Anemone for Mar/Apr, Cyclamen for spring or autumn, crocus
for spring and Sparaxis for May & June.

If you are planning to buy 50 pounds worth then ask for the wholesale
catalogue, it's really cheap compared to the normal prices. Nine pounds
for 100 bulbs etc plus they sell shrubs and herbaceous stuff.

--
Janet Tweedy
Amersham Gardening Association
http://www.amersham-gardening.net