Gardenseeker.com - Bulbs






 



bulbs in the garden

 

A whole new world of gardening awaits those who use garden bulbs to their full extent, for it is possible to have flower bulbs of one kind or another, in bloom throughout all of the year. This, certainly in the UK

To achieve this utopia of twelve months of flowers, we do have to cheat a little, and use some plants which are not grown from true bulbs, but which are still referred to as bulbs in the gardening world.

 They are also known by their proper classification by those in the know. However, most catalogues and nurseries that specialise in 'bulbs' also stray off the strict botanical path. So shall we!

In this part of the site, we will refer to all plants that are grown from underground modified stems or roots, as bulbs. We will also of course describe them in their true classification of bulbs, tubers, corms and rhizomes.

Daffodils - or Narcissus - grow from bulbs; Crocus grow from Corms; Dahlias grow from Tubers; Iris grow from Rhizomes. Left to right in images below.

Narcissus flowers - Daffodils Mauve Crocus in flower Dahlia Flower Iris in flower

To whet your appetite for this extension to 'normal gardening' consider this calendar list of bulbs that flower at different time of year - giving you the much sought after, year round colour! So for a start, follow your spring show with some Summer Flowering Bulbs.

Here's what to so if you want success with your bulbs

The Bulb Calendar below is for Start of the Main Flowering Times. Summer flowering bulbs in particular, will flower over a longer period than the spring and autumn flowering bulbs. There will be different flowering times according to which part of the world you live. The periods outlined are for general UK areas.

January :

February : March :

March : April :

May : June :

July : August :

September : October :

November : December :

So - ready to give bulbs a go and widen your horizons? Stay tuned to this section which will bring you all the information you need to get planting bulbs in your garden.

Types of 'bulbs' : Bulbs; Corms; Tubers and Rhizomes