Wealden Times | WT257 | October 2023 | Interiors & Bathrooms Supplement inside

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leaving the pot free for summer bedding.
Cook up a pot full of bulb lasagne by
layering bulbs that flower at different
times. Three tiers works well, and it’s
worth choosing different types – some
short, some tall – and not too many
tulips, as they’re quite leafy and planting
too many will fill the pot with foliage.
Bulbs that bulk up and
naturalise well
Wild plants like bluebells and garlic
rampantly cover the ground so are best
left to run wild outside in woodland and
hedgerows rather than in the garden.
Snowdrops, crocuses and narcissi are well
known for spreading themselves around
too, although slightly less enthusiastically.
They also seem to enjoy the edge
of woodland and damper meadow
situations. Anemone blanda will carpet
the ground in shades of blue, white and
pink – watch how after flowering the
seed-heads bend down to the ground and
bury themselves (cyclamen do this too).
For a natural looking effect, scatter the
bulbs where you want them to flower
and then plant them where they fall;
this avoids unnatural looking groups
and rows. They will soon clump up and
spread around by themselves. Beware of
the grape hyacinth (Muscari) though,
which can become a weed once it gets
going in the garden. The flowers are
attractive, but the foliage that tends to
linger for way too long, is just like grass
and sprouts up all over the place…
Snowdrops will colonise and
naturalise more easily when planted
‘in the green’. This means planting
them once flowering is over, but before
they dry out. Bought and planted
as bulbs in the autumn they may
have already dried out too much
If growing Narcissi in lawns, make
sure you don’t mind waiting 6 weeks
before cutting the grass. I tend to only
grow smaller types like ‘Tête-À-Tête’
or ‘Thalia’ in borders, as the huge
‘King Alfred’ style daffodils have lots
of foliage that flops about looking
unsightly once the flower is over.
Many tulips can’t be trusted to come
back reliably each year. As a general
rule, the closer you are to the species,
the more perennial they are and these
seem to be less prone to viruses too. The
worst disease affecting tulips is Tulip Fire,
which is a fungal infection that spreads
easily (like fire??) among the bulbs.
This is the reason it’s advisable to plant
your tulips late – as late as January has
been known without any ill effects.
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