GARDENER'S READING ROOM
The Art of Gardening
Bulbs

Naturalizing Bulbs

A grassy plot so thick with camassia, from a distance it looks like a lake... a hillside golden with daffodils... silver and green cyclamen foliage carpeting the ground under bare winter shrubs... snowdrops and crocus popping up unexpectedly.... Pick the right bulbs, plant them in the right place, and sit back watching their charms multiply through the years!

The "naturals" for naturalizing are the wilder bulbs whose native environment is close to ours. Some excellent choices for woodland or shady gardens are snowdrop, scilla, grape hyacinth, narcissus, cyclamen, alliums, anemones, and native trillium, fritillaria, & erythronium. In a grassy or open area, try crocus, autumn crocus, grape hyacinth, scilla, species tulips, narcissus, and camassia.

Next, pick the right place. Crocus or scilla look delightful in your lawn, but are you willing to leave the lawn unmowed for 6 weeks after the flowers die so the bulb can store energy for next year? (Or to mow high enough at first to leave the bulb foliage intact?) When you're naturalizing bulbs, they will spread semi-randomly - great for a naturalistic bed, not at all the right look for a formal one. Pick an area that has the right sun and soil for the bulbs you want to naturalize, but remember to consider the effects of letting the bulbs spread before you put them in.

A good technique for achieving instant randomness when planting your bulbs is to grab a handful, toss them in the general vicinity, and plant them where they fall. When planting in sod, just use a spade to open a "pocket" to the right depth and stomp it closed after you plant - no need to take bulb planters to your lawn. Give the bulbs a light feeding every fall with bone meal or bulb food, try not to over water in the summer after they've gone dormant, and otherwise neglect them.

By Terri Williamson
Skylights Autumn 2005 Vol. 19, No. 3

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