Best Spring Bulbs for Your Garden: How to choose

After the long winter, there is nothing better than looking out of the window and seeing small pops of colour across your garden. Perennial spring flowering bulbs are a quick and easy way to bring life and joy into the garden before everything else gets started. This guide helps you choose the best bulbs for Spring colour.

Best Spring Bulbs: what should you choose?

The secret is choosing varieties that suit your space, style and personality. Think about these 5 things when choosing bulbs:

1 - Think about scale and your space

Small spaces benefit from delicate bulbs such as Snowdrops, Crocus, miniature
Narcissus and Iris creating impact without overwhelming the space.
Larger spaces allow you to be more generous, embracing larger drifts of Tulips, Daffodils and Alliums.

Choosing a small number of varieties that work well together, over a long flowering season, will add joy to your garden.

2 - Which bulbs flower when?

Create a flowering succession. Don't rely on just one bulb species. Different species generally flower at different times. For example, Snowdrops appear first in late December/early January followed by Crocus and then Narcissus. Choosing a number of species, and specific varieties within each species, extends the flowering season from January through into April.

Snowdrops - Jan-Feb
Crocus - Feb-March
Narcissus/Daffodils - March-April
Tulips - April-May

3 - Make it personal

Bring your own personality to life through your bulb choice. Your garden should reflect you. Choose colours, scents and flower shapes which you genuinely love. Consider foliage, scent and what happens after flowering. Bulbs work best when their fading foliage is hidden among emerging perennials or grasses.

Plant bulbs through perennials to create a naturalistic look and feel

4 - Consider the style you want to create

For a more naturalistic look and feel, scatter bulbs more widely in borders, in between grasses, under trees and create clumps and natural looking drifts across the space. For a more structured look repeat the same varieties across the garden in a subtle rhythm.

5 - Understand your conditions

Check your soil, aspect, drainage and available sunlight. Some bulbs thrive in dry, well drained soil in full sun and others prefer a more moisture retentive soil in partial shade. Understanding your conditions will help you select the best bulbs for your conditions, driving greater success.

Conclusion: The secret to a beautiful Spring

Thinking about these 5 simple ideas can help you create a joyful spring garden. The secret is to choose with intention, not just plant more. A thoughtful selection of bulbs can make Spring feel like a carefully choreographed moment in the garden. Think about the setting and how you want your garden to feel. These simple ideas will help you create a beautiful Spring garden.