With Gardening being a part of our regular routine, we’ve dabbled in annuals, perennials, vegetables, and more… but one thing we’d never worked with previously is bulbs, and this Fall, that changed. I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it previously here on THE ROCK FATHER, but waaaaaay back in my past (practically another lifetime), I used to run a couple of garden centers. I sold a ton of bulbs back then, but never had the opportunity to plant some of my own. Fast-forward a couple of decades, and here we are – my Wife and I are homeowners, and I’m finally planting some fresh bulbs. For this project, four-year-old Addie was my Garden Helper. Armed with 200 (!) Fall Bulbs that were sent to us courtesy of the folks at Longfield Gardens, the little one and I set out to prep our home for some Spring color, completing a project that is fun and easy for kids and grownups alike.
Planting Bulbs is a simple, three-step process:
1. Dig a hole 3-4 times deep as the bulb height.
2. Set bulbs firmly in place, following spacing guidelines.
3. Cover with soil and water thoroughly.
Really, that’s it!
Now, there’s some other tips and tricks that can factor in, like picking colors, investigating bloom times, etc., but overall, bulbs are an economical way to start, expand, or just add some cool colors to your garden. Our property has some random bulbs scattered about – ones that have been here for years prior to our arrival. For this, we focused on four distinct areas where we wanted to add some permanent spring flowers.
- The landscape of the Step2 Playhouse.
- A brand-new flower bed in the corner of our yard near the play area.
- The north side of our shed.
- The flower beds near our front porch.
We layered our Muscari “Armeniacum” (a blue hyacinth offshoot – pictured right) around and between our Tulips. For the most natural look, you should group the bulbs in circles, pyramids, or clumps rather than a straight line. We did this in our new, corner bed and the front flower beds, but as we were doing a border strip by the girls’ playhouse and our shed, we opted for a line, alternating colors.
What will be interesting is that this blog entry has no true ending… and that you’ll have to check back to The Rock Father in the spring of 2014 to see what the outcome is. We’ll be keeping our eyes open for the first signs of spring next year, to watch as our beautiful bulbs emerge for the very first time. This is just a sampling of what we’re hoping to see…
In the meantime, there’s till plenty of time for Fall Planting! Check out Longfield Gardens’ full selection of Fall Planted Bulbs to start planning your spring garden.
