Get Growing: Refresh with spring bulbs

If you didn’t plant undulating carpets of snowdrops, crocus and early daffodils in Septem-ber, not to worry. Didn’t force any bulbs inside? It’s OK, read on. You can still enjoy some microdoses of oh-so-welcome flower power right now. 

Happily, growers around the region did the growing and forcing for you, and supermarkets, florists and nurseries are beginning to glow with cheerful spring bulbs in pots.  From small-est to largest, you’ll find tiny snowdrops with their dangling bells, upward-facing crocus, fragrant hyacinths, and narcissus (daffodils) from rock-garden-size “Tete a Tetes” to taller “February Gold” or “Thalia.”  I love “Tete a Tetes” especially because they bloom for weeks and weeks, and their small size makes them easy to fit into borders without having to look at big gangly leaves after they bloom.

Winter containers

Feel free to dig these, pots and all into your outdoor containers for a winter reboot. If you need more, you’ll see primroses available in every color, and some pansies, that make an excellent edgers around the bulbs. Other welcome supporting cast members would be per-ennials like hellebores and saxifrages, which will be blooming anon, which won’t need replacing next year. 

There’s no reason you can’t fill an entire window box with spring bulbs for a fantastic display. Keep in mind, it will need changing out in a month or so.

Accentuate sleepy shrubs

Sure, shrubby dogwoods may be shining right now, and their bright winter stems make great adds to winter containers and arrangements, but other deciduous shrubs may not be looking their snazziest at the moment. (How do you look when you’re sleeping?) If you have a front-and-center hydrangea, ninebark (Physocarpus), or other sparse creature, why not add a skirt of bulbs at its feet? It won’t notice, and you’ll love the effect. This is a great location for permanent bulbs too. 

Make a mass display

Get a collection of inexpensive terracotta pots or baskets to use as cachepots and display a curated field of bulbs anywhere you crave color – from your front steps to your dining table. The uniform containers will unify your collection.

Indoors, bulbs will probably finish blooming faster and will need to be planted outside ul-timately.

Courtesy Erica Browne Grivas

For the creatives with itchy fingers

Have you ever made a kokedama? The plant’s root ball and soil are rolled into balls and wrapped in sphagnum moss for hanging or table display. To secure the moss, you typically use green florist’s wire or clear picture hanging filament. They are especially charming hung from trees. I recently saw British gardener @lady_green_fingers create adorable kokedamas with spring bulbs, which really brings the flowers into view.

With their roots so close to the air, kokedama plants can dry out more quickly, so be ready with a mister if rain is sketchy. You could also do this indoors temporarily but keep evenly moist.

Indoors

Likewise, you can make lovely table arrangements using potted spring bulbs inside. Consider planting up a piece of bark or driftwood, or filling an urn, accessorized with lichen-covered branches and lots of moss. For inspiration, check out the work of florist Francoise Weeks (https://francoiseweeks.com/).

Care for next year

Once your potted bulbs are done blooming, you can replant in the garden (without its pot), adding some bulb fertilizer scratched into the soil surface. I’m not recommending planting in the container permanently because getting bulbs to overwinter in containers can be tricky in our wet climate. Some bulbs are more likely to be perennial than others. Tulips are notoriously unpredictable, except for Darwin hybrids. 

Also, the bulbs may be tuckered out from being forced to bloom early, hence the bulb food. A return performance is not guaranteed, is what I’m saying. For best results, don’t trim the leaves – they help nourish the bulb to grow again another year. If you don’t have room for the bulbs, pass them along to a friend with a garden.

If you’re ready for more garden inspo, check out my new Substack newsletter, A Gardener’s Path https://ericabrownegrivas.substack.com/.