They are the easiest, most diverse, and always the first to bloom: you can never plant enough of these famous small spring bulbs! Chionodoxas, squills, muscaris, iris reticulata, botanical daffodils… all these garden essentials can fit in anywhere… and there are two opposing ways for us to enjoy them: either we plant them in pots to admire them up close, or we spread them out in large naturalised carpets as far as the eye can see.
For the rarest and most original small spring bulbs, nothing beats planting them in pots. This allows you to have them close at hand when they bloom early in spring, making it hard to venture outside, and to lift them for an even closer look… not to mention that when it comes to pots, any whim is allowed: from the most classic terracotta to repurposed items like old colanders, tin cans, shoes… just be sure to check for drainage holes or use them as cache-pots. Among these precious bulbs, we love: the milky blue of muscari 'Valérie Finnis' and the metallic blue of anemone blanda 'Blue Shades', the cream pom-poms of botanical daffodil 'Erlicheer' and the elegance of the late pure white multiflorous 'Thalia', the refined pattern of flowers from dwarf iris 'Katharina Hodgkin', and the soft salmon colour of hyacinths 'Gipsy Queen'…
Muscari 'Valerie Finnis' - Anemone blanda 'Blue Shades' - Iris 'Katharine Hodgkin'
Daffodil 'Erlicheer' - Daffodil 'Thalia' - Hyacinth 'Gipsy Queen'
And when you only have a terrace or balcony, you should definitely not miss the opportunity to pot all the bulbs you desire, whether small or large! All are perfectly suited for pot cultivation. You can even plant them quite closely together, and on several levels. The taller ones like tulips and daffodils at the bottom, and the smaller ones like crocus and muscaris at the top, with hyacinths in the middle. This allows you to either stagger the bloom times by combining early and late bulbs, or conversely, to create a grand ephemeral display with simultaneous blooms that visually complement each other: small bulbs are perfect for contrasting with the larger ones!
Potted bulbs are essential to the decor around the old porch of Great Dixter in England
Nothing is easier than successfully growing bulbs in pots! The most important thing is to ensure perfect drainage to prevent bulb rot, by having drainage holes at the bottom of the pot and using quality potting soil mixed with a bit of sand or gravel. After flowering, let them dry completely, but don’t forget to water them until they naturally yellow, occasionally with a bit of fertiliser! You can then remove them from the pot and store them in a shaded, well-ventilated place until replanting the following autumn.
In naturalised carpets
Almost all small bulbs naturalise, meaning they will reliably return each year, increasingly numerous and beautiful. If the location suits them and they are not disturbed too much, they will self-seed or multiply to form large carpets, whether in a lawn, under trees, or even in beds of shrubs or perennials: they won’t mind as the small bulbs disappear underground when the perennials and shrubs come into leaf. To successfully create these carpets, it’s very simple: 1- plant generously (they are quite inexpensive!), 2- choose bulbs suited to the situation. If it’s in shade, you will primarily choose anemones, winter aconites (Eranthis), snowdrops, Tommasini crocus (C. tommasinianus)… not forgetting bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) and woodland tulips (Tulipa sylvestris) for April. If it’s in the sun, then you can enjoy muscaris, crocus, iris reticulata, and botanical tulips that will offer you an almost unlimited choice of colours, from the most delicate, like the lilac-pink tulip bakeri 'Lilac Wonder', to the brightest, like the brick-orange tulip whittallii.
Small bulbs to naturalise for shade
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Wood Anemone (Anemone nemorosa) - Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) - Snowdrop (Galanthus nivalis)
Crocus tommasinianus - Bluebell (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) - Woodland Tulip (Tulipa sylvestris)
Small bulbs to naturalise for sun
Mammoth Crocus 'Jeanne d'Arc' - Muscari armeniacum 'Blue Spike' - Iris reticulata 'Harmony'
Tulipa bakeri 'Lilac Wonder' Tulipa whittallii
And to inspire you and make you dream, here is a selection of the most beautiful naturalised bulb carpets seen in spring in famous gardens… But don’t be misled: small bulbs also mean replicable displays on a small scale!
A sea of Crocus tommasinianus colours the perennial beds of Hermannshof from March, accompanied by some clumps of yellow winter aconites
In April, the flowering of this long regular avenue in the English garden of Sissinghurst relies almost entirely on small bulbs
Anemone blanda forms a superb carpet under budding roses at Sissinghurst
3 small naturalised bulbs together in the shade: Crocus tommasinianus, Eranthis hyemalis, Galanthus nivalis (Hermannshof)
Wood Daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) at the Beaujoire park in Nantes
This blue carpet formed by anemone blanda and various species of squill creates a dreamlike decor in this woodland atmosphere (Sissinghurst)
The guinea fowl fritillaries (Fritillaria meleagris) have thrived for nearly 100 years in this cool, moist hollow at Great Dixter
A carpet of Chionodoxa luciliae awakened by some greigii tulips in a sunny bed at Hermannshof
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