A bulb garden is a great way to enjoy the arrival of spring. Flowers that you start from bulbs are among the earliest to arrive as the weather warms, and if you do the work in the fall””and in the spring, depending on the bulbs”” you can create a spectacular garden that will produce wave after wave of colorful, pretty blooms. In addition to a plan, you need the right tools because, otherwise, planting bulbs can become a back-breaking chore.
Choose Your Bulbs
First, you have the fun task of selecting the bulbs to plant. Choose a range of fall-planted bulbs that will bloom in spring and those that you’ll add in spring to bloom in the summer. This way you will get a range of different flowers that emerge at different times, giving you a continuous bed of color and flowers.
Some good choices for spring-flowering bulbs include:
- Crocus
- Daffodil
- Tulip
- Hyacinth
- Allium
- Snowdrops
For spring-planted and summer-flowering bulbs, consider:
- Gladious
- Iris
- Begonia
- Freesia
- Ranunculus
- Dahlia
- Lilies
Make a Plan
Before you attempt to put bulbs in the ground, make a plan for the beds. Knowing the area you want to cover will determine how many bulbs to buy for one, but a plan will also ensure your beds look nice and neat and have continuous color throughout the season.
Plan your spaces for spring and then summer bulbs. Arrange the spring bulbs so that they are spread out in the bed and then do the same for the summer bulbs. Keep those that will grow taller to the back or center of a bed, with smaller plants in the foreground so they don’t get overshadowed.
Another strategy is to plan for thick clumps of flowers of the same type. For instance, a simple way to do this is to plant an area of all tulips of different colors, another of daffodils, and maybe a third of irises. This requires less planning and planting strategy but still provides big impact.
Select and Use the Right Tools
Garden weasel has some great tools that will help you get your bulb garden going. Start with the Muti-Use Transplanter. This small hand tool is easy to use and will help you dig out weeds and rocks and cultivate the soil, breaking up clumps as you prepare a bed for your bulbs.
A crucial tool for creating bulb beds and gardens is one that will help make bulb planting easier. To get bulbs in the ground you have to dig a lot of holes. This can get pretty tedious and without the right tool will require being on your knees or bending over for hours.
Instead of doing it the hard way, try a tool like the Weasel Bulb Planter. This allows you to make holes easily without bending over or squatting down. It is a digging tool with a T-bar grip and a non-slip foot plate that allows you to easily push the tool into the soil and pop out a core leaving a perfect bulb hole behind. Just drop bulbs in and cover with soil and this job will go by much faster and easier than you imagined.
A bulb garden is a great way to enjoy flowers in your yard, but creating one takes a lot of time and physical effort. You can minimize both, not to mention the toll on your body, by using the right tools to prepare the soil and get bulbs in the ground.
