White flowering bulbs
Some of us love splashes of colour in our gardens, but many others are delighted by the tranquillity of white. This is because white actually makes a garden look lighter. White is the colour of quiet relaxation. And your garden is the perfect place for this! In addition to white annuals and perennials, you could extend the flowering season by planting flower bulbs that will produce white flowers in your garden. You can then start enjoying these beautiful little garden gems as early as January.
Small is beautiful
Flower bulbs that produce white flowers are available in many different varieties and sizes. If you want small delicate flowers, choose snowdrops (Galanthus). These are the earliest flower bulbs to produce white flowers – they bloom as early as January. They are also a good flower bulb for naturalising. This means they will produce more flowers every year! In addition to snowdrops, you might want to choose spring snowflakes (Leucojum vernum), white grape hyacinths (Muscari), crocuses (Crocus) and anemones (Anemone blanda).
Large flowers
There are many flower bulb varieties that produce large white flowers. Tulips (Tulipa) are the most popular. There are many kinds of white tulips, too: double-flowered, fringed and lily-flowered varieties to name a few. Did you know that not all daffodils are yellow? Some varieties are white. And then there are the large white-flowered ornamental onions (Allium), nodding star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum nutans), hyacinths (Hyacinthus) and foxtail lilies (Eremurus); each will make a garden sparkle. So what are you waiting for?
Planting flower bulbs
Because the flower is already tucked away inside its bulb, planting them doesn’t require green fingers. All it takes is four steps for guaranteed success.
- First, loosen the soil with a spade at the place where you want to plant the flower bulbs.
- Dig a hole with a spade or bulb planter
- Plant the flower bulbs in it with their pointed sides facing up and rounded sides pointing down. Keep a distance of three times the diameter of the bulb between the bulbs, and use three times the height of the bulb as the planting depth.
- Make sure that the soil is moist. Fill the hole with the previously removed soil and tamp the surface gently.