Although autumn is one of my favorite times of the year, it is also a very busy time with lots of tasks to complete. One of my favorite goals to complete in the fall is the Planting of Bulbs. In early to mid summer the surge of catalogues arrive and of course my intent is to order early to get the selection and more often than not I wait until September and even October to place my orders.
This year I was very excited about planting a new area with all Blue Bulbs. I love blue and thought it would be fun to have an all blue garden of early flowering bulbs, backed by white flowering Jonquils. The area is anchoring our horseshoe pit in the midst of our woodland garden. Not used in the spring this becomes one of several paths creating journeys that wind throughout our garden.
There aren't a lot of really true-blue flowers but some of the blue flowering bulbs are exceptionally beautiful. The varieites I selected grow well in most hardiness zones and I cant' wait for their bloom in the spring. I selected Chinodoxa Luciliae, Chionodosa forbesii 'Blue Giant', Brodiaea corrina, Ipheion uniflorum 'Rolf Fiedler', Ipheion uniflorum 'Wisley Blue', Chionodoxa sardensis, and Scilla siberica as my selections.
Chionodoxa sardensis, also known as the Turkish Glory-of-the-Snow. It is a superb heirloom species with a lovely gentian blue flower with a small white eye. The flower height is 5" to 6" and flowers in April.
Chionodoxa forbesii 'Blue Giant' is an improved and more vigorous form of Chionodoxa forbesii with larger flowers and a height of 4" to 8" and flowers in April. It is vivid blue with large white centers.
Chionodoxa luciliae, known as Lucile's Glory-of-the-Snow was named in honour of Lucile, the wife of the Swiss botanist Pierre Edmond Boissier. This little harbinger of spring has beautiful blue flat flowers that are like little stars with a white heart, can flower as early as February/March and is 4" to 6" tall.
Brodiaea corrina, also known as 'Fool's Onion' is a native to the Northwest U.S. It is a star-shaped flower with blooms of deep violet and violet-purple tips and even darker midveins. It has bell or funnel-shaped flowers and a grass-like foliage. The flower blooms a bit later in May to June when the Jonquils and Tulips come up and is a wonderful cut flower. It can be a bit more tender hardy in zones 6-9 and is 14" tall.
Ipheion uniflorum Rolf Fiedler, or 'Spring Starflower' is an old bulb, Circa 1836. It is a sweetly-scented star-shaped periwinkle blue flower that blooms in April/May, 3" to 6" tall.
Ipheion uniflorum Wiseley Blue, Spring Starflower, also circa 1936 is another sweetly-scented Starflower with star-shaped shimmering deep blue flowers that bloom in April/May. This is one of the best cold hardy South American bulbs that requires very little care. It multiplies to form a great low naturalizing patch and only grows 3" to 6".
Scilla siberica - Spring Beauty or Siberian squill has the lovliest nodding blue flowers. This bulb will naturalize quickly. It blooms very early in spring and grows 5" to 8" tall. These bulbs are great selections for also growing in pots or forcing indoors for earlier bloom.
Early spring-blooming bulbs help to enliven the garden before the deciduous trees and shrubs leaf out in mid-spring. They get plenty of sunshine through the bare tree limbs and are finished flowering and ready to go dormant by the time the trees flush out and send for their new spring growth.
Before you can plant any of these bulbs bed preparation is important. Digging into the soil with a trowel and loosening the soil by pulling it back and forth to create a area with holes slightly deeper than the desired planting depth is a must. I mixed all the bulbs together and scattered them in the two areas each about 20 feet long. I then planted the small bulbs about 3 inches deep and covered them with a mixture of the existing soil and composted soil with bulb food for extra nutrients. The bed was then watered.
Once the bulbs have gone to rest the garden will be filled with different hostas, ferns and perennials that will add fabulous accents to the woodland garden. The deciduous native shrubs of witch hazel, azaleas, maples, and viburnums will now reveal the later spring and summer garden.
I cannot wait until next spring when my new garden will give me days of delight - Only the flowers will be Blue.....
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