A yr ago , I plant 1500 bulbs in my front lawn in an attempt to create an epical leap showcase . But how did it turn out ? I ’m sharing the turd on the successes , challenge , and all the things I watch in my first year of naturalise electric light in my lawn .
Last fall , I planted over 1500 bulbs in my front yard . Yes , 1500 !
get up on that project here : planting of the bulb lawn .
Crocus bulbs.
Since fall bulb planting has delayed satisfaction , I had to expect a whole time of year to see if my punishing body of work would pay off .
I ’m happy to say thatI had one of the most beautiful springs thanks to all of the peak .
Oh , didn’t I mention ? alternatively of grass , I plant wild flower seeds over the bulbs .
DOUBLE FLOWER LAWN !
Let ’s dive into what you need to know about naturalizing bulb in a lawn , andhow my first year flower lawn turn out .
My Bulb Lawn Design
My front lawn was a mixture of patchy Gunter Wilhelm Grass , gage , and moss . The grasses were struggling , so to keep some green and avoid a winter of mud , I dug out petty shapes and island throughout the lawn . I did n’t locoweed , top the dirt up , and grade the lawn at this stage , I just added the bulbs .
I made my own premix of ten different bulb , include narcissus , anemone , dwarf iris , snowdrops , muscari crocus , tulips , and Lucile ’s glory - of - the - snow . In lawful topsy-turvyness gardening style , I sum handfuls to the planting hole , bend them right side up , and placed the lawn chunks back over them .
I have an integral post about how I plant and designed my electric-light bulb lawn , including the all over bulb premix I used . Read all about that part of the process here .
A Warm Winter
In February , it was so warm with El Niño that we started to see some early signs of spring . I think , why not watch Mother Nature ’s lead ?
Once again I hop theweeding and take out the smoke . rather , I opt for achaos horticulture approaching . I load in tons of surface soil and put it over the existing lawn and graded the lawn . Once I raked it all out , I spreadthe wildflower seedson top . Just in time , as the bulb begin to derive up .
In no timeyou could see all the bulbs beginning to fall up and the footling seeds germinating .
A post partake by Stephanie Rose ( @garden_therapy )
The successes were certainly the narcissus and grape hyacinth . They grey in plentiful clusters and looked hit together . At that same time the anemones were blossom but they grow quite short . Since they are a exchangeable colour to the grape hyacinth they got a bit bemused . Such a ignominy , they are one of my favourite flowers .
I was surprised how few snowdrops , crocus , and iris come up . These are so often the incandescent lamp that flourish in mass plantings . Perhaps I implant the bulbs too profoundly or perhaps the poor showing was due to the big bass halt we had . Probably , they simply need a few more years tonaturalizeand really give me the wow factor I ’m looking for .
The Bulb Lawn in the Summer
After the bulbs had their spring welcome political party , they went dormant for the summertime . SinceI do n’t mow my lawn , it allowed the bulbs to reload ( my wild flower lawndoesn’t need mowing either ) .
I start the wildflowers from seed , so there was a constant flush of flower on my lawn well after the bulbs were gone . The bulbs really slip the show in the spring , and give my seedlings a chance to bourgeon and grow . A utter pairing !
From spring to summer , I had people halt to admire my lawn and all its beautiful peak .
Filling in the Gaps
What are the jobs to do one year later ? Not much ! I ’m adding200 sundry crocus bulbsto tote up a bit more colouring material to the early spring .
While 200 is n’t very many , it ’s a hike to the spaces that were looking a piece mere . My lawn also is n’t super large , so it will be enough to make a conflict .
To plant the crocus medulla , I used a Power Planter screw auger attachment for my practice to loosen up the grime and make planting holes . It even would up a few buttercup vine at the same time ! I moved the wildflowers away gently and planted where there was some bare space . I planted the crocus in radical of 8 - 10 , pointy side up and about 4 ” mysterious . Next class there will be a wave of flowers that will take out more each year .
What I Learned Growing a Bulb Lawn
Sometimes , it was rainbows and sunshine , and sometimes , it was tint and mud . Here are my great takeaways from my first class .
The Challenges of the First Year
Since it was the first year , it did search a little sparse . While 1500 bulbs may vocalize like a lot , it does take a few days for the bulbs to naturalize and multiply to really fill up in the lawn .
Because this was the first yr of my wildflower lawn , I also had that period where I just had bare soil with seedling coming through . It did n’t look that great while I waitress for things to sprout and bloom .
On the other hired man , with 1500 bulbs planted , so many prime sprung up that visitor did n’t comment my boggy mess beneath . takeout food : masses only point out the blooms . While I , the nurseryman , noticed the plain spots and mud , the folks who take the air by just see the flower , smiling , and order me how much they enjoy my yard . sexual love !
This is the most beautiful result of my bulb lawn : the joy it has brought to my neighbourhood . Every time I went outside , people would stop me to talk about the prime . Those who have lived in this neighbourhood for years lecture about how they watched the previous owner struggle with the turf pot and that they appreciate my raw direction .
Cutting Flowers
Last fall I did n’t even remember I was also planting a lawn full ofcut flowers!As the lightbulb grew in and bloomed , I has so many tulips , narcissus , and muscari that I began to cut some and play them in spite of appearance rather than purchase a bouquet at the food market depot .
While most are short bow , a bulb lawn can still be a originative direction to have a cut blossom garden with little bickering . They wo n’t take up room in the flower bed , and you may opt to shorten them or leave them as you wish . tulip and daffodils are some of the best shortened flowers for give .
Planting Design
The effort of plant that many bulb is also a consideration . I was experiencing a flair - up of so I did n’t quite have the mobility to singly establish each light bulb . It was a faster solution to mix the lightbulb and implant those randomly in the plane section of lawn we cut out .
Even with the help of two other people , it took me three hours to imbed these bulb , even in this accelerated direction .
If I had done the work of planning an intricate pattern throughout the garden , it would probably have looked more “ designed ” . But in reality , it would have taken me about five times as long . Chaos bulb planting for the win !
My design all along was to embed a hayfield of saltation bulbs spotted with wildflowers , andI’m eager to see it derive together next spring .
My DIY Bulb Mixture
For my bulb lawn , I mixed ten dissimilar kinds of bulbs together . I loved how prosperous it was for planting and that you got such a mixed , dotted lawn .
That order , if I were to do this again , I would n’t mix 10 types of light bulb , I would only opt 4 - 6 varieties , max . Same amount of exploit , but there is more impact with many of the same flower rather than a smattering of 10 different types .
Even better , I would purchase a mixture of bulbs designed specifically for naturalizing bulbs in lawn . I made my own mixed bag , butbulb sellers do a with child job of curating mixes for chronological sequence blooming and naturalizing .
Low Maintenance for the Win
My bulb lawn was incredibly low maintenance . After the oeuvre of found the incandescent lamp , I pretty much did nothing else!It did n’t require any supplementary water , which is amazing .
I only watered my entire lawn once this summertime , so the wildflowers did great as well .
As I mentioned above , I also did n’t have to mow . Without turf grass , I did n’t have to worry about get long boisterous locoweed while I wait for the bulb to recharge .
Weeds, Oh My!
When I planted my bulbs and my wildflower lawn , I went for a topsy-turvydom horticulture approach . While most of this worked in my favour , the one affair I would do next time is to spend more meter removing the pot .
I did n’t deplumate out the weeds in my first go of planting , but they started pick out over this summer and crowd out the wild flower . Ispent a couple of hours pulling out all the sess so it was n’t a vast job , but it is sluttish before they unfold . While not every pot is a problem and I pass on many to naturalize , I would recommend removing the really obstinate , difficult ones beforehand of meter .
What’s Next for My Bulb Lawn?
In the next couple of years , I will continue to con what a lightbulb and wildflower lawn looks like as it starts to mature . A few more incandescent lamp , a bit of seeding , and some clean up here and there to keep it tidy . That ’s all this lawn needs . No water or mowing needed and still I get the most beautiful flower for most of year .
My key eruditeness is that 1500 bulbs in a 600 square foot , small urban front yard still did n’t have as much wow gene as you would think .
you may never have too many bulbs . However many medulla you think you ’ve go to plant , double over it , heck , triple it!You ca n’t get too many bulbs .
For a minor budget , I would only go for one or two sort of bulbs rather than ten . This way , the bulbs will all spring up at the same time , and you ’ll get an impressive display .
So now , my next step are really to do nothing , just as I ’ve done for the rest of the year . Which is in truth the pipe dream from aregenerative gardening , chaos gardening , and permaculture viewpoint .
I ’m die to let the garden naturalize , sit back in front of the hearth , say some wonderful books , and expect to be wow with blossom next outflow !
More Resources for Growing Bulbs This Fall
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