Northern Shade Gardening

Galanthus Puschkinia Scilla bulbs

I’ve been adding more of the smaller spring bulbs to my garden this fall. These are easy to tuck into a garden bed, in between perennials. When the bulbs die back by summer, the perennials will take their place, extending the flowering time. I’ve expanded some established groups of bulbs, adding more for a splashier spring show. In the photo above, you can see the Galanthus (snowdrops), Puschkinia (striped squills) and Scilla (squills) bulbs from left to right.

I did most of my bulb planting in September, before my zone gets much frost. This gives the bulbs a chance to settle in before the cold temperatures stop the growth. During the past few weeks, the temperatures went above freezing, and I saw some bulbs on sale. I planted some more of my favourites in the garden. It’s a little late in the season to be adding bulbs in zone 3, but the ones I added late last year survived, so I’m optimistic again this year.

Scilla siberica squill flowers May

Many of the little bulbs have smaller foliage that fades away quickly, like these Scilla. After the blooms have gone, the bulb leaves need to photosynthesize, but larger leaves can look messy as they decay. The short, narrower leaves of the littlest bulbs are more easily hidden by surrounding perennials, and also die back quickly. They can store up energy for next year, without looking too unkempt.

small bulb packages

The smaller bulbs look especially charming in spring, when very few plants are blooming. Before the attention grabbing perennials start to flower, you can appreciate the elfin charm of the dainty blooms. The Puschkina scilloides are less than 15 cm (6 in) tall, and at any other time of the year they would be hidden in the garden, but they stand out when there is very little foliage around. They look eye-catching when planted in large groups, but can be appreciated in a small group, if they are planted next to the steps, or in a corner near a path.

Galanthus elwesii snowdrop bulbs

I added some more of the earliest bulb of all, Galanthus elwesii (snowdrops), with the charming white petals. The tiny snowdrop bulbs can be planted fairly close together, and these definitely need a large group, or tight planting to show up well. These are planted at the edge of a larger group of Galanthus.

Galanthus elwesii flower closeup May

Here is a snowdrop flower from last May. As the first blooms in the spring garden, the Galanthus get lots of attention. Those bright outer petals, hide the little green markings, unless you get down for a closeup look. In earliest spring, you can appreciate the subtle details.

Puschkinia libanotica striped squill flower May

The Puschkinia scilloides var libanotica (striped squills) bloom after the Galanthus in my garden. These Puschkinia  are some of the showiest of the petite bulbs. They have large clusters of small blue and white petals. I have some Puschkinia scilloides ‘Alba’ that bloom in all white too. They are nice, but I prefer the lively little blue racing stripes of these bulbs.

Puschkinia libanotica striped squill bulbs

The Puschkinia bulbs can be planted close, a few cm apart, so the flowers almost touch each other, and display well. In the photo above, I’m adding these between Brunnera plants, next to an established patch of striped squills. The group looked great last spring, but I thought it could be larger. I dig a shallow hole, and put about 20 of  the bulbs in it, with their points up. Then dig another hole between the next perennials. They get covered up with soil, watered in, and next a layer of fall leaves over top.

Scilla siberica squill bulbs

The blue Scilla siberica (squills) bloom soon after the striped squills. These look fantastic paired with other white or blue flowers. Even the bulbs themselves have a purplish blue covering when you plant them. The actual flowers have have a true blue colour, as shown in the picture second from the top.

Puschkinia libanotica and snow May

Here is a typical spring picture from a northern garden, little Puschkinia snow cones, from last May. The tiny flowers of the small bulbs usually recover quickly from a spring snow, and continue to look good when the sun shines again. This is probably one of the best reasons for planting these hardy bulbs.

Earlier this fall I wrote about planting some crocus bulbs, pairing the small Muscari (grape hyacinth) bulbs with tulips, and underplanting shrubs with Chionodoxa (glory of the snow) bulbs. When there is very little new green foliage in early spring, it is fun to wander around the garden, looking for the latest bulbs to bloom. I’ll be ready for spring to burst with colour, after the monotones of winter.

Hydrangea and birdbath fall leaves

Hydrangea shrubs have enough room underneath, that you can make a beautiful layered garden by underplanting them with shorter plants. In summer I have some dwarf Campanula (bellflowers) producing purplish blue star shaped flowers in a low carpet under this Hydrangea paniculata. I love the look, and wanted to extend it to spring, so I’ve planted some Chionodoxa forbesii (glory of the snow) bulbs underneath. These early spring bulbs should flower before the bellflowers bloom, with their own version of starry flowers.

Campanula porscharskyana (bellflower) in flower

Above is  a photo of  Campanula porscharskyana (Serbian bellflower) from this summer. They start flowering midway through June, and continue intermittently all summer, and into fall. They look especially pretty under the Hydrangea, even before it flowers,  twinkling up through the branches. They are a gorgeous shade of purplish blue, with five narrow petals and white towards the centre. These bellflowers grows quite low to the ground, so they don’t interfere with the Hydrangea branches, and they fill the bare area underneath with beauty. Then in August and September, when the Hydrangea blooms in white, the little blue flowers of the Campanula look lovely paired with the large panicles. However, there are no flowers underneath the shrub before mid June, just the bellflower foliage.

Chionodoxa luciliae (glory of the snow) flowers spring

I  added some glory of the snow bulbs to bring some early blooms to this area. The blue stars are reminiscent of the Campanula and should have a similar effect. These have six petals, a dark line down each petal, and a white centre. The Chionodoxa luciliae start flowering during May in my zone 3 garden, so the Chionodoxa forbesii should start the colour show early too, before the bellflowers. These two Chionodoxa species seem interchangeable now. The pretty blue bulbs will bring some spring cheer, while the Hydrangea stems are still leafless. Then when the glory of the snow flowers fade, the bellflower groundcover should easily hide the slender bulb foliage as it dies back for the season. Usually the  Chionodoxa foliage disappears quickly.

planting Chionodoxa forbesii (glory of the snow)bulbs

Here is one of the bulb planting holes, in between the Campanula poscharskyana plants. I dug narrow holes among the perennials, to minimize the root damage. Then I planted 5 to 10 bulbs in each hole. Altogether I planted 50 Chionodoxa forbesii, but I could have planted more. These bulbs cover the  ground under the front half of the Hydrangea, and a bit around the sides. I could plant another 50 to really carpet the ground under the PG Hydrangea.

fall leaves under Hydrangea

The fall leaves were already covering the garden bed, as I watered in the newly planted bulbs. This will be some of my last outdoor gardening fun for the year, since the temperatures are so cool now. It is probably a little late to be planting bulbs in zone 3, but the weather warmed above freezing this week, the bulbs were on sale, and the picture of more blue flowers was running through my mind. Soon, a white quilt will be spread over top of the brown and green patchwork one. However, come spring, the flower parade will start as soon as the snow melts, and the early spring bulbs bloom.

Here is a pretty bulb combination of tulips and Muscari (grape hyacinths) that I’m planting to bloom in the spring garden. They should flower at the same time in pink and blue, both with the extra petals of doubles.

Tulipa 'Fox Trot' bulb package

The double early blooming pink Tulipa ‘Fox Trot’ are planted at the back. Aren’t those tulips pretty? They remind me of my favourite peony, ‘Sarah Bernhardt’. These have a multitude of light pink petals, like the double peony. They are short, about 30 cm tall (1 ft). I fell for these Fox Trot tulips when I saw the picture on the label, even though I didn’t originally plan to plant any tulips. I saw the double pink photo and instantly imagined a large group of them, highlighted with a large group of smaller blue bulbs in front.

Muscari armenicaum 'Blue Spike' bulb group

The above photo of Muscari armeniacum ‘Blue Spike’ is from my garden last June. Blue Spike became my favourite grape hyacinth last spring, when a newer group of them bloomed for an extended period. They bloomed for almost a month, which is a long time for the little blue bulbs. They also have large flowers for such a small bulb. Their extra petals, with very open flowers, creating a dense spike of intense blue. Here is a post from earlier in the year about the Muscari.

The Muscari armeniacum ‘Blue Spike’ grow about 15 cm (6 in). When planted in front of the 30 cm (12 in) pink tulips, the difference in their heights should be just right to show off each type of bloom. I’m hoping the tips of the Muscari will be just under the bottom of the tulip flowers.

Muscari 'Blue Spike' (grape hyacinth) bulbs being planted

For the grape hyacinths, I dig  hole about 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 in) deep, and about 30 cm (1 ft) across, between some later growing perennials. Then I put the bulbs with their pointy side up, about 5 cm (2 in) apart, and cover them back up. I leave a bit of loose soil in the bottom of the hole, so I can balance the bulbs upright with a bit of support, and then they don’t get knocked over when I pour the soil back back over top. Digging a series of large holes for groups of bulbs is the most efficient way when you have a number of them to plant.

Tulipa 'Fox Trot' bulbs being planted

Here are the Fox Trot tulips in their planting hole. It’s about13 cm (5 in) deep, and they are about 13 cm (5 in) apart. I make a number of these holes in the garden bed, between the perennials that will hide their foliage after they bloom.

Muscari 'Blue Spike and Tulipa 'Fox Trot'

Here is a composite of what the Fox Trot and Blue Spike should look like together. I think these two bulbs will bloom at the same time next spring with the taller pink tulips rising up behind the shorter blue Muscari. I could have planted a few first to test the bloom time, but instead I decided to jump in with planting 54 tulips and 180 more Muscari bulbs. I need a larger number of the Muscari, since they are smaller bulbs, and planted closer together. About 3 times as many grape hyacinths should balance out the tulip planting. If they don’t manage to bloom in tandem, they will still make a nice sequence, but I’m hoping for an overlap.

Have you been planting any bulbs for spring blooms?