After a long, dull, gray winter, bits of brilliant color bring a smile to even the most sullen curmudgeon. We can’t help it. Vibrant hues invigorate us.
And the earliest risers of the late winter/early spring garden are spring bulbs. These are those happy brights peeking through the snow or casting color across an entryway that stop us in our tracks and make us notice the changing season that’s emerging. You might even feel a bit warmer when you see those bits of purple and yellow come through.
You may not realize it yet, but after a long winter, you’ll wish you’d thought about spring bulbs now. You don’t want to leave spring out of your seasonal color displays.
Here’s a list of our favorite bulb trends to inspire your spring landscape so that you can be the first on the block to have bursts of color on your property.
1. Monochromatic Color: Power Up With One Strong Shade
Making one big color impact is always an impactful way to kick off spring. Today’s monochromatic bulb sections are usually done in groupings of warm colors like reds, oranges and yellows or cool colors like blues, purples and whites.
Sticking to simple, more singular combinations is especially important when using certain flowers, like tulips. The influence they make in numbers is quite powerful.
2. Color Blocking: Mix and Match for Best Effect
Speaking of tulips, they are also excellent when used for color blocking, which is combining big sections of contrasting color together for a bold color punch.
Mix tulips with pansies in contrasting colors for the most impact. Or choose a variety with all the elegance of a classic tulip, but enhanced with the fullness of peonies. Double-flowering tulips are easier to grow than peonies, but provide just as much showiness.
And boxwood parterres are practically meant for tulips as their short evergreen expanses provide a great backdrop once the tall tulips rise up with their bright blossoms. And then when the tulips fade, the hedges are great for hiding the leftover foliage. You can also use tulips in swaths in shrub borders where perennials are late to sprout. Since deer tend to go after tulips, parterres offer natural protection from these hungry home landscape invaders.
3. Daffodils: More Than Meets the Eye
Daffodils are assuredly one of the most reliable spring bulb options. They are deer-resistant and perennial, meaning bulbs multiply year over year. They also boast a relatively long bloom time.
They no longer come in just standard yellow, single-flower varieties. There are many stunning, double-flower varieties that have a lovely scent, in addition to heavily producing blooms so you don’t feel guilty cutting some to add to a vase. One such double-flowering variety, called “Tahiti,” is a pale yellow with bits of bright orange-red in the center — an exotic addition to any garden.
Combine daffodils with hyacinth for an effective color-blocking pairing.
4. The Early Risers: Snowdrops and Crocuses
There is something quite magical about the very first spring bulbs to bloom in the season. That’s why adding these into your landscape could be the reprieve you need from the dull winter months.
Favorites that add tiny drops of color as early as January or February, depending on the weather, are snowdrops and crocuses. They make a statement in small pockets, particularly along woodland trails or walkways. They also delight in places where you can see them up close so you can feel as if you’ve stumbled upon a treasure when they arrive.
Snowdrops tend to produce white flowers, while crocuses come in a variety of colors, including purple.
5. Alliums: Big, Bold Additions
Need something a little more dramatic? Allium produces spiky round globes in shades of purple on three-foot-tall spikes.
Alliums can be grouped with shaped shrubs for a modern, contemporary feel or mixed in with perennials sporadically in a mass planting for an English garden or cottage effect.
This spring bulb is a newer, more recent addition to the season’s floral delights, so it makes a stunning and standout addition.
Feeling inspired for some spring color in early 2021? It’s not too late to plant fall bulbs now and plan for a showy spring display. Even if you aren’t sure what color pattern or blooms would work best in your landscape, the design experts at Rossen Landscape can provide suggestions and use their creativity to make your vision a reality.
Contact us today. We can discuss all of your options and create a custom plan for your space.
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