Just in the nick of time, our bulb order arrived on the doorstep this morning, all ready for this weekend's bulb planting extravaganza (sounds better than admitting we have roped a few friends in to spend the day bending over planting thousands of little bulbs).
To ensure Willowbrook is a floral fantasy this spring, We are planting a huge variety of bulbs. Their placement has been meticulously planned on the garden maps. Firstly, we have the planting of the lakeside area with a variety of lillies, narcissi and irises...
Iris 'blue magic'...
Yellow Flag Iris...
Iris Versicolour...
and Iris Germanica...
Then we shall complete the Bluebell Walk with...
Bluebells (hyacinthoides ssp)
and Muscari ssp inc. 'Early Giant' and 'Americanum'...
Dotted around the Lake and Oak Grove will be various Freesias, including Cassis (pink), Yvonne (yellow), Ancona (purple), Oberon (red with yellow centre), and Argenta (white)...
We have a great many Narcissi species to plant as well. Under all the Tilia europea in The Lime Walk we shall plant Narcissus 'orangery' (split carona - below)...
Under the London Plane Trees up the drive we shall plant Narcissus 'rosy wonder' (both species below)...
and under all the Willows along the brook we shall plant...
Above: The early flowering Narcissus 'malvern city'Below: The mid season flowering Narcissus 'carlton'
Below: The multiflowered Narcissus Erlicheer
By planting these species we should ensure a good long period of blooms.
We shall also under plant the woods with pockets of Croci...
Above: Crocus chrysanthus 'cream beauty'Below: Crocus seiberi 'firefly'
Moving on to the flower border around the Potager garden, we shall plant...
Above: Hyacinthus orientalis 'Delft blue'Below: Hyacinthus orientalis 'sky jacket'
and
Above: Hyacinthus orientalis 'Paul Herman'Below: Hyacinthus orientalis 'pink surprise'
Around the potager and in the 8 standard bay pots we shall have a variety of 'flaming' and non flaming parrot tulips...
Below: The 'Air' Parrot Tulip - Pink with green edges
Below: 'Rococo' is a very dramatic red parrot with green frills.
The 'Super Parrot' - white and green. Very popular for bridal arrangements
Then there are the standard tulips. 'Spring Green' is another popular bridal option, with its similar colourings to the super parrot...
Below: The Standard Tulip 'London', is a great specimen of red tulip.
Below: 'Princess Irene' is an exceptional golden yellow specimen, a perfect seasonal compliment for One's Orange borders....
Some of the bulbs waiting to be planted...
I suspect it will take us a lot longer than one weekend to plant all the bulbs, but at least with a rotary hoe we won't have to prepare the soil manually like we did last weekend for all the buxus hedging. Whatever you are doing this weekend, I hope you have a colourful one.
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Oh your property is going to be an absolute vision come Spring!!! Lucky you have the perfect climate for all of these gorgeous bulbs. Take it easy with all that planting!
ReplyDeleteAngex
OK, that did it! You just named, I believe, all of my favorite bulb varieties. We use many in our floral arrangements.
ReplyDeleteThe challenge we face here is deer. And rabbits. And chipmunks. Between them, our bulbs are always iffy.
What do you do? Maybe you have a hint or two?
-Annie
Dear Ann,
ReplyDeleteWe are lucky enough to not have a major problem with local wildlife eating our bulbs. My suggestion to keep rabbits away (and it may also work for chipmunks) is to sprinkle the planted area liberally with blood and bone meal (fertiliser made from just that, found at most garden centres hopefully).
We have found that the smell of the meal (although inperceptable to us) is forboding to the smaller creatures and they steer clear.
A good trick with bulbs, to get them to shoot stronger and taller, is to put them in the fridge (4 degrees centigrade) for 3-4 weeks before planting them. The cold helps them prepare for planting better. Place them in a paper bag in the fridge, in a compartment away from other fruit and veges if possible.
I hope this helps.
David.