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harri

By Harri

West Midlands, United Kingdom Gb

Hi everyone
as the days start to get a little longer my thoughts are turning to planting bulbs , I have a circular raised bed in the middle of the lawn, I would like to fill with colour and fragrance and also have year round display.
any ideas on what I should plant.




Answers

 

De Caen anemones flower for quite a long time. Some people plant lilies in pots and sink the pots in when they flower. There are Dahlias for later on if slugs aren't a problem.Dutch iris are pretty. Lots of other summer flowering bulbs are in the catalogues at this time of year.
Freesias are gorgeous and smell wonderful. And how about a Crown Imperial in the middle?

16 Feb, 2015

 

Bulbs are fine, but they won't give you a year round display, and during the darkest days of winter (November, December) there'll be nothing to look at at all in the bed. That may not matter if you can't see the bed from the house though, or if you think you'll go out and plant something like winter pansies in autumn, but if it is a concern, you might need to consider some evergreen smaller shrubs, depending on the size of the bed.

17 Feb, 2015

 

I would suggest an carpet of lower growing heathers so that the bulbs can grow through them. Don't forget snowdrops, aconites and crocus for this time of year and some autumn flowering crocus (not colchicum) for the latter part of the year.

17 Feb, 2015

 

How big is the bed, Harri? Would it take larger shrubs such as viburnum, lilac or wintersweet for scent or a couple of dogwoods for winter colour?
As always, a photo would help to get an idea of the of the space and some info about the soil type and orientation.

17 Feb, 2015

 

Thank you all for your replies, much appreciated.

18 Feb, 2015

How do I say thanks?

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