I don’t know about you, but when it comes to bulbs for the Spring, I’m all over it! Tulips, crocuses, daffodils, snowdrops, bluebells, hyacinths. You name it, I’ve got it covered. I’m organised, I have plans and I get them in at the right time. But with Summer bulbs – and by that I mean bulbs which will flower in the Summer – I’m rubbish!
I think it’s because in the Autumn time, when I’m thinking about buying Spring flowering bulbs, there’s less creative stuff to do in the garden. So I throw myself into it with relish. Whereas Summer bulbs need to go in after the frosts have finished and by then I’m already in more of a whirl doing other tasks in the garden. I’m mulching, tidying up my garden, messing about with sweet peas, hardening my seedlings off and planning new perennials. In short I get sidetracked.
Next thing I know I’m at the garden centre buying random packs of Summer bulbs in a panic. With no plan, no focus, no imagination…and probably no place to put them! Hence last year I ended up with Gladioli in a recycle box! The flowers were gorgeous but it was hardly a look I’d recommend!
Well not this year. This year I’m going to have a plan, and my planning is starting now.
Summer Bulbs – The Options
So let’s start by looking at all the options. In reality when talking about Summer flowering bulbs I’m also including tubers, corms and rhizomes. So there’s a lot to choose from:
- Dahlias
- Lilies
- Crocosmia
- Eucomis
- Nerines
- Agapanthus
- Alliums
- Cannas
- Freesias
- Gladioli
- Begonias
- Callas (also known as Zantedeschia)
- Peonies
- Liatris Spicata
- Polianthes
Peonies are not in this year’s plans as I blogged about – and bought – plenty of peony tubers last year. You can see the peony blog here. I also have oodles of Alliums and Crocosmia. But I do have plans for other Summer bulbs.
Summer Bulbs Plan #1 – Liatris Spicata
One of the combinations I’m really proud of in my sunny bed is Liatris Spicata and Sedum. In fact it’s in my list of top plant combinations and for good reason.
Both plants are magnets to insects including butterflies and bees – which is brilliant – and they look wonderful together. Liatris Spicata (pink), with its spears of fluffy flower heads, looks wonderful rising up next to the flatter headed Sedum Hylotelephium Herbstfreude.
They don’t just look lovely from a shape point of view but the colour combination is brilliant too. The pinky purple Liatris is in bloom during July and August, while the Sedum heads are still lime green. The flat heads of the Sedum then burst into colour in Autumn. This gives my border an extended period of colour interest for me, and many months of nectar for the bees – perfect!
However, I recently divided up my Sedum and replanted it as it was starting to split. So I have more of it and therefore need more Liatris to stop the Sedum dominating the area. At the same time I think last year’s Liatris had lost a bit of its ‘Va Va Voom.’ So I’m going to plant some more Liatris to keep the effect going.
Extra Suggestion For You
If you like the look of Liatris but don’t like the colour, there’s a gorgeous white variety (Liatris Spicata Alba) which is well worth checking out.
Or if you like the plant but don’t fancy combining it with Sedum, I think Liatris also looks lovely with Anemone (especially September Charm). I also think both the white and pink Liatris Spicata would be good combined with white Echinaceas like those below. Imagine the insects you’d attract!
Or if you want to combine it with another summer flowering bulb, try Polianthes tuberosa The Pearl. This is a gorgeous, statuesque, spike shaped plant which produces lovely scented double flowers.
Plan #2 – Dahlias
While I’ve not historically had many Dahlias, I dabbled with one last year and it was lovely. It was a chocolate red colour and called Mexican Star. I had it in a pot in the red corner on my patio. It looked wonderful.
Knowing our Winter would most likely kill it, I dug the Dahlia and over-wintered the tubers in my frost free shed. Come the fine weather I will certainly plant them out again (fingers-crossed I’ve over-Wintered them properly). I will also get some more as you can’t have too much of a ‘good gardening thing’ in my book.
However, I want to go further than this.
During the Summer Mr F-W and I stayed with my brother Peter and his lovely wife Caroline, who live in gorgeous West Wales. As always I was wowed by West Wales but I was also wowed and inspired by the immense array of Dahlias in their garden. They had three beds full of them. Here’s a tiny snap shot below…
I don’t have one bed let alone three to devote to such a display, but it has definitely made me think about increasing my use of Dahlias. Maybe I’ll plant up some containers with them and put them at the front of our cottage.
Plan #3 Stealing an Idea
Last year I was also very inspired by my visit to Aston Pottery In their famously colourful gardens they had many Dahlias but it was something else which more specifically caught my eye. They had a walkway lined on either side by pots of White Agapanthus ‘Queen Mother’ cleverly coupled with Eucomis Sparkling Burgundy. Both plants fall firmly in the Summer bulbs camp and I am definitely going to emulate this.
Again, I’m not sure where I can put this in my garden! We already have blue Agapanthus growing in the gravel at the front. So it might be too much of a jumble even for me, to add this to the mix!
Instead, I may resort to putting this idea on my patio. It may work well in my red corner.
Mmmm…isn’t it annoying when you’re brimming with ideas but lack the space in your beds and don’t have pathways to line!
Plan # 4 – Canna Lily
I failed miserably with a hot orange Canna Lily last year. I planted it in the middle of the pot with Mexican Star Dahlias and it simply didn’t get the light or space to thrive. But I’m not going to be defeated. I’m going to have another go this year because not only do they look exotic but they come in some amazing colours. And I’m a real leaf fanatic and Cannas’ leaves are wonderful too. However my lesson is learned. I’m going to put it in a pot on its own. I’m going to go for Canna Tenerife (pictured above).
I will put her in the ‘hot corner’ of my garden. You can read more about this part of my garden here.
Extra Suggestion for You
Mine will go in a pot, however if you have room in a sunny bed, you can put Cannas in a border. I think they look lovely in a massive group as above and with grasses.
They also partner brilliantly in a mixed border with others from my list of Summer bulbs such as Agapanthus or Crocosmia. Such a combo would create a very architectural look. Or you could put them with Dahlias for some full-on, flowering.
If you’ve only a little bit of room, say a small patio and like yellow, Cannova Yellow is worth checking out. It flowers from May until October and is 70-80cm tall, smaller than your typical Canna. And it’s leaves are really handsome too.
Summer Bulbs – The Rules
So those are my Summer bulb plans, though once I start looking I may well add some extra ideas to the mix. The important point is I’m doing this all now. So that whatever I do will be planned – rather than a last minute shambolic panic!
I thought I’d end with a few rules to help you execute whatever Summer floweing bulb plans you may come up with for your garden.
Position
Summer flowering bulbs tend to come from hot countries; they like a lot of sun. So don’t plant them until all of the frosts have finished and put them in a reasonably sunny location. If you’re growing your Summer bulbs in a container and you have space, you can give yourself a head start by planting them earlier than this and keeping them protected from the frost in a conservatory or warm greenhouse.
Depth
If it’s a bulb or corm plant them pointy end up. Put them in a hole that’s three times the height of the bulb – so the bulb takes up a third of the hole.
Rhizomes such as Cannas and Agapanthus tend to be planted quite shallowly – if in doubt check the packet. Or if you’re buying a plant already in a container, match the depth it’s growing in.
Tubers such as Dahlias like to be 6-8 inches deep.
Soil Preparation
If you’re planting them in the garden, remove stones and debris first. You don’t want your bulb to expend a lot of energy navigating its way past things. Also add to your soil some organic matter such as well-rotted garden compost, leaf mould or well-rotted farmyard manure. The experts suggest between a half and a whole bucketful per square metre or yard. This will add oomph to the soil and improve its drainage, which is important as bulbs in general don’t like being soggy.
Watering
Ensure your bulbs get water to start them off and help them develop their roots. And keep an eye out for hot, dry spells. Rhizomes such as Cannas and Dahlias need regular watering during the growing season.
But don’t kill your Summer bulbs with watering kindness especially those in pots! Make sure that any water can drain away as if too much water stays in the pot, the roots can rot.
Late Frost!
If you’ve planted your Summer flowering bulbs in containers and a further unexpected frost is set to hit, don’t panic, protect the container in bubble wrap or with fleece. Bulbs in the ground should be ok.
Over Winter
My Agapanthus, Alliums, Liatris and Crocosmia are very happy being left in the ground over Winter. However, many of the plants mentioned in the list such as Dahlias, Cannas and Callas will not cope with the frosts. So it’s best to lift and store them in a frost-free environment. How you do this will vary from plant to plant. So I’d suggest once you’ve chosen your plant you look at the instructions or ‘Google’ that specific plant for over-wintering advice.
That’s it from me…happy Summer bulb planning…x