Buy spring bulbs for autumn planting
First, choose your bulbs. Below is a list of all my favourites. I do usually have to shop around to get everything I want but to save you on P&P, I have clustered a little bit.
[Also check you have enough compost if you are going to be planted into pots.]
NARCISSI (DAFFODILS)
I have a real fondness for the dwarf varieties because they have an elegance that I find thrilling, and they look incredible in terracotta or, even more stylishly, in antique mixing bowls. Early, mid, and late varieties will give you flowers from February to May so just check flowering windows.
My favourites:
· I have to google the spelling every single time and I will never mention them on a podcast because I wouldn’t trust myself to say it right, but my ultimate in dwarf narcissi is Narcissus Bulbocodium Arctic Bells. Double check you are getting the white not yellow, unless you are an unnecessarily cheerful sort of person. [Link to buy].
· Minnow
· Narcissus Canaliculatus
· Elka
· Thalia
ALLIUMS
Alliums punch well above their weight because they are such an incredible structure in the spring garden (see pretty much every Chelsea garden ever designed, and Piet Oudolf’s liking for Allium sphaerocephalon and A. atropurpurea.
Myself, I have developed a love for A. siculum (syn. Nectaroscordum), also known as honey garlic. The clue is in the name, don’t cut it for the house because it stinks, but the colour looks incredible in the flower beds.
CAMASSIA
A glorious, underrated bulb that adores damp meadows and orchard grass. King Charles wanted a meadow but his soil is too rich, and so he planted swathes and swathes of blue camassia into grass to mimic that soft planting style. The Yeo Valley Garden has done similar (here) and it really is a sight worth seeing when they open for the season in April.
Choose between blue, soft pink and white.
FRITILLARIA MELEAGRIS (SNAKE’S HEAD FRITILLARY)
SHOPPING LINK FOR THESE & OTHER FRITS although also try BETH CHATTO
They love moisture and cool roots, perfect for the orchard or under fruit trees. I buy and plant these every single year but, if I am perfectly honest, I do not have the right conditions. They need damp but well-drained, which is slightly tricky. I still think they are one of my favourite flowers of all time, so I’ll carry on with my futile project. (Note to self, Waitrose always sell them in flower in pots in the spring.)
Consider other exciting fritillaria too. I find them slightly less fussy about the soil. If a F. Persicaria is the consolation for not managing drifts of F. meleagris, then I consider myself to be doing absolutely fine.
MUSCARI (GRAPE HYACINTHS)
They’ll multiply madly if happy. I go for pots for this very reason. Traditionally blue, almost all of the grape hyacinths come in the cooler colours. As a compromise, I tend to go for the pinks. I also recommend Alaska, even if it doesn’t go with anything.
IRIS RETICULATA
I adore a trough of these because they are diminutive and so lifting them up onto a table is a lovely thing, and they are one of the few spring bulbs that come in brown. Look for Lion King and Autumn Princess.
CROCUS
Oh my goodness, one of my peak memories from last spring was seeing a huge tree at the front of East Lambrook Manor underplanted with, not snowdrops, but crocus, and absolutely swarming with bees. I swore in that very moment to fill at least one part of the garden with these magical spring flowers. Controversially, I am going cream but I can also recommend these if you are a little more traditionalist. Look for Cream Beauty or I also love Gypsy Girl.
AMARYLLIS
Not for outdoors, but throw a couple of these in with your bulb order. We’ll be talking about how to get them growing for Christmas.