Anemones belong to the early-flowering, bulbous plants. With their soft colouring, of white, pink and light blue, they look wonderful under a tree or shrub which is just beginning to grow in the spring. They are planted in the autumn and over the years they will form a splendid carpet of flowers.
Almost everyone knows the lovely blue grape hyacinth; the first flowers appear above the ground at the beginning of March. The white type and the double species 'Blue Spike', are, however, less well known. Grape hyacinths are fantastic garden plants, but are also suitable for use as cut flowers. This would seem to justify planting a patch of them in an unused corner of the garden.
Very few early-flowering bulbous, tuberous and cormous plants are so massively planted as the Crocus. The effect of crocuses is especially beautiful when they are planted in large numbers. For a massive effect, 100 to 150 corms should be planted. One important growing condition is that crocuses must have a well-drained soil.
A basic rule is to plant at least twice as deep as the height of the bulb with a minimum depth of 2 inches or about 5 cm. Too shallow planting leads to poor, incomplete root development and short scrawny plants. Shallow planting also increases the risk of frost damage. Planting too deeply increases the chances of the bulb rotting and also weakens the growth considerably as it pushes upwards
The main requirement for bulb flowers in the post-bloom period is to leave the leaves alone so the plant can put its energy into "recharging" its bulb for next spring's performance. This "energy charge" is gained through photosynthesis as the plant uses the sun's energy to turn basic elements such as oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium into food. This food is stored in the bulb's "scales," the white fleshy part of the bulb, for use next year.
The genus, Fritillaria consists of almost 100 species. All of these are found in the northern hemisphere, with the main habitats being the areas around the Mediterranean. Only a limited number are being cultivated, but interest in this genus is very much on the rise.
In the UK there are many interesting bulb gardens. You will find them listed on this website.
Harvest time or the autumn is the ideal time to plant crocuses, narcissus, tulips and other spring-flowering bulbous plants. It is amazing to see such splendid flowers appear from these apparently dry bulbs, every year.
Iris reticulata are especially appropriate for use in rock gardens. Naturalising is possible. One drawback is that they develop many leaves during the flowering stage, diminishing an otherwise dramatic appearance. Try to make combinations with perennials to avoid the problem with the dead leaves.
Jack Snipe, Peeping Tom and Minnow are small-flowered types of narcissus which are already in bloom extremely early in the season. They are offered for sale, in bloom, as pot plants, around Christmas, but they are, of course, also magnificent on the balcony or in the ground.
