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The little gems - Spring’s charming buried treasures!

“Buried treasures“ is how you`ll often hear bulbs being referred to. They hide, unobtrusively, in the soil for much of the year and then pop up in brilliant colour. So it`s apt that the smaller ones among them be affectionately known as the “little gems“.

These little treasures of the Spring garden, with a special appeal all of their own, have earned a place in the heart of most gardeners who`ve discovered them.

The little bulbs seem often to pop up in the garden when least expected. You`ll enter a gate, round a corner or bend in a path, step out on a terrace… and your eye is caught by some colour: a clump of brilliant red tulips, of tiny golden daffodils or a mass of deep blue grape hyacinths. One couldn`t ask for a more lovely surprise.

Plant dense clumps of “little bulbs“ in the empty pockets of the garden, or the nooks and crannies of a pathway, a rockery or amongst the evergreen conifers. In Spring they`ll burst into colour - giving you splashes of gold, dabs of brilliant blue, flashes of racy red, hot pink or a riotous mix of Spring colour.

The little bulbs are always hot favourites for filling the rock gardens but many are also amply suited to being naturalised in the lawn under Spring blossoming trees. More still are totally adorable in pots, alongside winding pathways and drifting down embankments.

The “little gems“ are also wonderfully self-reliant and will grow happily in gardens in all areas provided their site is suitable. The little bulbs thrive in open and mostly sunny spots which are well-prepared and well dug in advance, with some decomposed organic matter added for good measure. Once planted they require amazingly little care and will, in most cases, multiply unobtrusively so that your annual pleasure is ever increasing!

Despite their diminutive size, you`ll never over look these gorgeous gems because most will burst into vivid colour before much of the garden has awoken from its Winter slumber. Often will be the case that, on a cold chilly day you`ll suddenly see the little bulbs cheerfully blooming away as a sure sign that Spring is nigh. It might be a sway of porcelain blue Spring Star Flowers under the still bare branches of the oak or elm, or the sweet scent of a few freesias alongside the path or the vermilion red of a pot of rock Tulips on the sunny porch. Ahhhh those first flowers - they never fail to thrill me!

Here are some of our favourite “little bulbs:

Dutch Crocus:

The exquisite blooms - in lavender, purple, white or streaked - are wonderful for carpeting in the lawn. They`ll easily naturalise and readily multiply, doing the hard work for you!
The Dutch crocus should be restricted to the cooler climates.

Massing Freesias:

A cheerful blend of golds, red, burgundy, mauve and orange. These are shorter than the Bergunden Freesias so don`t require any staking. They`ll simply pop up each year and share their beautiful fragrance with you!

Soldier Boys (Lachenalias):

There`s no need to confine these soldier boys to `marching` in neat straight rows (which is how they are traditionally planted). Clumps of the brilliant gold or multi-coloured flowers are just as effective. They make wonderful partners to the electric blue of Grape Hyacinths.

Grape Hyacinths:

These are my all time favourites with their colour so deeply blue, it`s electric. The dramatic colour is further amplified when contrasted against the cheery gold of Daffodils or the glowing red of Tulips - sensational!

Little plots of Grape Hyacinths gives dashes of brilliant blue whilst large drifts create a `sea of blue` in the lawn or garden.

Bluebells:

Bluebells are the quintessential bulb for the woodland garden. Left dormant for much of the year they pop up in pretty china blue in Spring. They`ll readily colonise a grove of birch trees - creating a dreamy haze of blue!
Bluebells are available in pretty pink and plain white also now!

Babiana “The Baboon Flower“:

These are very like freesias in appearance but flower in an intense mix of royal purple to blue, mauve and pink. The blooms are wonderfully long lasting and so well worth discovering!

Spring Star Flowers:

These cheeky little flowers appear with amazing ease from late Winter and last seemingly forever. They swim in abundance above the tufts of grassy green foliage and multiply rapidly! Traditionally they were available in porcelain blue but can now be purchased in deep blue or snow white.

Rock Tulips:

These little gems make for a blissfully low-maintenance garden - all they require is a light application of fertiliser once a year applied flowering - which makes them little gems in more than looks alone.

Silver Chimes (Ornithogalum nutans):

The shiny, silvery flowers are so quaint you`re bound to fall in love with them! So dainty yet hardy and easy to naturalise.

Ixias:

The very rare Duck-egg-blue Ixias are absolutely exquisite and, are finally now available once again. Grab them whilst you can because a clump of these in the garden can make you go weak at the knees with desire!
Plus many, many more….

Get a copy of our current Summer 2001 catalogue, feast your eyes on the many “little gems“ to choose from and then fill your gardens with their charm!

Last Reviewed: 18/02/2004 9:33:41 AM

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