Planning a spring garden
“Dream it, plan it, do it”, as the saying goes. Whether it’s a dream holiday, a dream wedding or a dream garden, you can’t avoid the planning stage if you want the results to resemble the picture in your head. But planning doesn’t have to be a burden or a barrier, and can actually be lots of fun.
Dreams & Ideas
You might have some vague ideas about what kind of flower bulb garden you want, or maybe you have already spent many hours daydreaming about the bulbs you want and the exact place you want to plant them. Wherever you are in the planning process, below we’ll give you some tips and pointers to help you along.
Your canvas
The first question you should answer is where. Do you have an enormous garden with a big lawn? Just a tiny square of green? Or maybe only a balcony or windowsill? This is the moment to get paper and pencil out and start making a sketch of the space you have. Don’t feel like it has to look super professional, a simple hand-drawn map will do just fine as a canvas for your plan.
Ground or container
Now that you know what you’re working with, it’s time to look at what’s possible. There are two options available: planting flower bulbs in the ground or planting flower bulbs in containers. If you want to plant the bulbs in a bed or border in your garden, you have to focus on two things: drainage and sunlight. Mark the spots in your yard that drain well and receive full sun or partial shade. Places where there are still puddles five to six hours after rainfall are too soggy for bulbs and will lead to rotting.
Any sunny spot
If you opt for planting in containers, you have a bit more control over the soil since you can make sure it doesn’t get soggy by using well-draining pots and special soil. This means that you’re not restricted to places with actual soil only and any location that gets enough sun will do.
Moods & shapes
We’ve answered the where and chosen our spots, so now we can focus on the what – design and colors. If this is the point where you’re stuck, it’s time for every architect’s favorite: the mood board. Get some magazines (or go online using Pinterest), cut out all pictures and words that speak to you and glue them on a large piece of paper. Which styles do you automatically gravitate towards? Geometric and straight or rather organic and flowing? Nothing is wrong and everything goes, this is your garden. If it turns out a strict, designer-y vibe is your thing, you can get the desired effect by making square beds and planting the bulbs at evenly spaced distances so they’ll come up like regimented soldiers. If your preference is more towards a bohemian feel, you can create islands of mismatched pots and crockery which you then fill with as many bulbs as possible for an abundant, romantic atmosphere.
Colors & varieties
The most impactful (and perhaps most exciting) part of the planning process is deciding on the colors and varieties you’re going to plant. There are many approaches to choose from and many themes you can use: How about big & bold, with flowers like Allium Globemaster and Eremurus Robustus? Or tiny & tender with flowers like Muscari Ocean Magic and Mini Daffodil Prosecco? Another option is to try a tulip-only garden starting with Banja Luka, via Flaming Flag and Happy Generation, and ending with Glamour Unique. Finally, you can never go wrong with sticking to one color as your theme; these blogposts about a white, red or blue garden will give you all the inspiration you need.
