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Home > Flower and garden articles > Spring Bulbs in a dry climate
Spring Bulbs in a dry climate
In the southern states of Australia, the beauty of autumn will soon be with us, and the trees will be changing into their glorious colours that herald the cooler days and chilly nights. This must be the most beautiful of all seasons, and comes as a welcome relief to the merciless heat of summer.
A great many of us have been affected this summer by water restrictions, and have had to painfully allow our beloved gardens to suffer as a result. It can be hard to remain positive in such times, but now that we are heading into autumn it`s a good time to plan ahead for the coming seasons.
Many parts of Australia have recently experienced significant rainfall, and for some gardeners it`s been a welcome relief from drought conditions. We still have a long way to go to achieve satisfactory water levels in our reservoirs and catchment areas, and it is vital that we all continue to be as water-conscious as possible in our gardens.
It`s now easier than ever to select drought tolerant plants that will suit our gardens, with an ever increasing choice of hardy and reliable plants that can handle our tough conditions. This seems to indicate our choice as gardeners for the immediate future and for years to come if current weather trends continue.
In choosing drought tolerant plants for your garden, spring bulbs of all types are an excellent choice as the bulb is essentially a storage organ, with its own reserve of nourishment and moisture to protect it from the harsh elements.
As spring flowering bulbs grow through the cooler months of winter, most varieties are not affected by hot dry summers and are tolerant of our tough conditions.
So the good news is that gardeners in all parts of Australia can still enjoy the many pleasures of growing spring flowering bulbs, as they can be relied upon to give you a great display in your spring garden, year after year.
Now is the right time to plan your display of colour for spring and order your spring flowering bulbs while our top quality stock is still available. As we have mentioned previously, this year it will be wise to slightly delay planting your bulbs until at least April / May, as the soil temperature will still be too warm in most parts of Australia. For best results, spring flowering bulbs need cool conditions to kick start them, so it is best to slightly delay planting time.
Many bulbs such as soldier boys (lachenalias), spring star flowers, grape hyacinths, freesias, crocus and ixias represent great value for money as they will naturalise freely in your garden and increase every year to give you masses of flowers. The addition of an all purpose fertiliser applied after their flowering season will help to give them a boost for the following year.
Spring flowering corms such as ranunculus and anemones are not as resilient as the larger fleshy bulbs, but are equally as delightful when in full flower. What could be more uplifting on a chilly winter`s day than the sight of a mass of bright ranunculus, or the pretty blooms of the very popular anemone? For a perfect display every spring, we recommend that you plant fresh corms every winter of these two varieties. They are definitely worth the extra effort as they will flower for many weeks and are excellent for creating a massed effect with other spring flowering varieties.
 Everybody loves daffodils ! These little rays of sunshine light up the dullest of winter days early in the season. There are so many different types of daffodils that it`s easy to select ones that are just perfect for your garden. Don`t forget that they are very tough, and can be left in the ground to multiply each year. We also recommend the miniature daffodils for containers.
Just as tough, dutch iris are simply beautiful and yet so easy to grow. They are an excellent cut flower too, as their long strong stems and lovely colours make them an elegant choice for vases and floral displays. Dutch iris are another excellent choice for hot dry gardens and they can also be left in the ground for years to multiply.
 Of course, our very favourite spring flowering bulb is the glorious tulip! These wonderfully flamboyant, brilliantly coloured blooms seem to be the icing on the cake when it comes to spring flowers. There is simply no other variety that has such an impact in the spring garden.
With such clarity of colour, and a wide variety of types to choose from, every gardener can find their perfect tulip. Now the fact that tulip bulbs are not heat tolerant doesn`t mean that Australian gardeners cannot grow them successfully. We guarantee that if you follow our planting and storage instructions, tulips can be grown in most areas.
If you haven`t tried growing tulips before, why not try them this year - it will be the beginning of a love affair !
As with all our bulbs, full growing instructions are supplied with every order, and horticultural information is also available on-line.
Order your spring bulbs now, and you can look forward to a wonderful season of colour in your garden in springtime.
by Jenny Waldock
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