Planting bulbs is truly an act of faith. ย You dig some holes… plant a few bulbs…. cover them up and water them in. ย And what do you have to show for it? ย Nothing…. yet. But just when you think spring will never come… ย Mother Nature delivers! ย Beautiful, exotic blossoms… sometime emerging through the snow as if to say “So there, Old Man Winter!”
This is bulb-planting season, and Tagawa’s Gardens has dozens to choose from. ย Let’s look at a few that caught my eye.
“Cartouche” Tulips
When we think of spring bulbs, the traditional tulips and daffodils are usually the first to come to mind. ย I live in the country with herds of deer as constant neighbors. ย Deer love tulips, so I generally don’t plant them. ย But this beautiful double-pink tulip from Simple Pleasures makes me wish I could.
The flowers emerge white with pink edges but with time, turn more red than pink. ย Be sure to plant them where you can watch the amazing color transformation!ย
“Clouds of Cotton” Tulips
This lovely combination of white over deep purple is stunning! ย It’s from Van Bloem Gardens. ย Shades of purple are one of the most popular colors among home gardeners these days. ย “Clouds of Cotton” blooms mid-spring. ย As with many bulbs, they put on their best show planted together in clumps. ย And what a show it will be!
Narcissus/Chinodoxa Blend
Is it a narcissus or a daffodil? ย Technically, all daffodils are in the larger narcissus family. But I’ll always think of that big bed of bold yellow trumpet-shaped flowers that my aunt grew as the daffodils that meant spring had arrived.
Whatever you choose to call them, narcissus/daffodils should have a place in every garden. ย And if you live in deer country, they can be your go-to spring flower because the deer don’t like ’em! ย Deer love tulips, but the daffodils don’t interest them.
Tagawa’s carries lots of these bulbs, including this mix of narcissus and beautiful start-shaped chionodoxa, also deer resistant. ย Garden design rarely gets better than combinations of yellow and blue. ย Who wouldn’t want this as their own declaration of spring?
ย “Orange Monarch” Snow Crocus
If you’re interested in a traditional spring bulb in a not-so traditional color, check out this crocus called “Orange Monarch,” with a beautiful butterfly as its namesake.
Crocus bulbs are about the size of a small grape. ย Very easy to plant! ย But boy, do “Monarchs” pack a punch! ย Can’t you just picture these poking up through the snow in early spring? ย Talk about attitude!
Giant Snowdrops
Snowdrops, known botanically as “galanthus,” are lovely delicate-looking flowers that are a lot more robust than you might think. ย They’re one of the first flowers to push up through the snows of late winter.
These “giant” snowdrops look like their smaller relatives, but stand as much as eight inches tall. ย Small but mighty, and they’re deer resistant! ย Sweet and elegant and tough, all at the same time!
“Globemaster” Allium
From small but mighty flowers to big and eye-popping! ย Globemaster allium will turn heads! ย One of these tennis ball-sized bulbs grows a single giant round wonderfully purple flower.
The “blossom” is actually a globe (as the name implies) of hundreds of tiny star-shaped flowers held high above the garden bed on a four-foot stem. ย They’re beautiful as they mature in late spring and excellent in dried arrangements. ย Every garden should have at least a few!
Fritillaria “Prolifera”
Fritillaria aren’t like any other spring-blooming flower. ย These impressive plants grow a cluster of drooping, bell-shaped blossoms on a stem that’s three to four feet tall. “Prolifera” is a brilliant reddish orange that will shout out its arrival in mid-spring.
All parts of the plant give off what some describe as a “skunky” odor. ย But that’s a good thing! ย The mild odor keeps the deer and foraging rodents at bay. ย These flowers look like they’d be right at home in a tropical setting, but can thrive in Colorado gardens in late spring.
Colchicum “Double Waterlily”
Colchicums are a different sort of flower. ย They send up leaves in the spring, but no flowers. ย When the flowers emerge in the fall, they have blossoms only. ย Not a leaf in sight! ย That habit earned them the nameย “Naked Ladies.”
Karen, one of Tagawa’s Perennial guru’s, says if they’re planted now, they’ll send up that elegant “naked” flower this fall. ย Imagine having thisย double lilac-pink appear as so many other flowers have faded for the season.
Now is the purr-fect time to plant!
All of the flowers listed here come with specific planting instructions. ย Most require very well-drained soil, but some tolerate or prefer more moist conditions. ย Any of the Tagawa staff working near our bulb display will be happy to help you make just the right choice for ย your garden.
Plant now, and be thrilled by the color and exotic beauty still to come!
