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This
article was first published in the English Garden April 2003
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“Small Blue Bulbs” |
These bulbs are available between
May and November from our Autumn Catalogue or
you can buy in season from our Online
Ordering Centre.
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| The prima donnas
of the spring garden may be the vibrant and showy daffodils and tulips but
as with all well stage-managed productions it is the smaller, bit parts
that complete the show. Often overlooked, these small, blue flowered bulbs
are the perfect foil for the brighter colours of other spring bulbs,
especially the golden yellow of daffodils. Yellow and blue is one of the
most reliable colour combinations, guaranteed to add a little drama to an
otherwise bland scene. The majority of these bulbs are also easy and very
reliable, tolerating most soils and conditions providing that the soil is
not actually waterlogged and there is sun for at least part of the day
while they are in flower. The only downside is that some are a little too
easy and can become invasive. |
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Virtually every
garden I know has at least one clump of either the almost evergreen Grape
Hyacinth, Muscari neglectum,
with its dark blue flowers or the paler M.armenaicum.
Although both are rapid increasers and probably too vigorous for most
borders they are excellent naturalised under deciduous trees. For a bolder
effect, and I like to grow mine in pots with yellow pansies, why not try
the double flowered form M.armenaicum ‘Blue Spike’ with
its massive flower heads? |
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Muscari armenaicum |
Muscari armenaicum
'Blue Spike' |
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| If
you are looking for something more refined and certainly more restrained
then I would suggest M.latifolium with its single broad leaf
and striking light and dark blue two-tone flower. Although it will produce
seedlings, it does so in a restrained manner, never exceeding its welcome.
The almost turquoise blue of M. azureum is hard to beat.
This dwarf gem, only 6cm tall, produces rounded, rather tubby flowers and
is small enough not to swamp neighbouring rock plants. I also use it very
effectively at the front of a sunny herbaceous border. |
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Muscari latifolium |
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The most unusual
Grape hyacinths are the Tassel Hyacinths
(M.comosum) with their cluster of brilliant violet
sterile flowers held above the creamy-brown fertile flowers. At 40cm these
are one of the tallest. They are also much later flowering, in May rather
than the more normal March-April for most Muscari. In the double form M.c.
‘Plumosum’ all the purple flowers are sterile, resulting in a
huge, open head of feathery flowers. |
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Muscari comosum |
Muscari comosum 'Plumosum' |
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| Scilla |
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The Scillas are the most
versatile of spring bulbs. Scilla bifolia is one of the
earliest bulbs to flower, often with the snowdrops. It has a raceme of
small, intense blue starry flowers and needs to be planted in significant
numbers to make an impact. The unpronounceable Scilla
mischtschenkoana ‘Tubergeniana’ is one of the absolute must
bulbs for any garden. The ice-blue flowers, which open out almost flat,
first appear in February and continue well into March. Sunshine and a
well-drained soil is all it requires and they are equally at home in a bed
or in thin grass with crocuses under a deciduous tree. |
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Scilla mischtschenkoana
‘Tubergeniana’ |
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Taller and later flowering
Scilla sibirica ‘Spring Beauty’ has nodding flowers of intense royal
blue. I mass it round the base of a winter flowering cherry and use it to
edge a path in my herb garden. I am particularly fond of the quiet charms
of Scilla lilio-hyacinthus. This little woodland gem, with broad, fleshy
leaves and pyramidal heads of sky-blue delights in a cool, humus rich soil
in part shade. |
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Scilla
sibirica ‘Spring Beauty’ |
Scilla lilio-hyacinthus |
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Chionodoxas,
commonly called Glory of the Snow, are a close relative of the Scillas.
All have a cluster of upward facing blue flowers that appear in March.
Coming from high mountains they are very hardy but do not like to be too
hot in the summer. They are therefore excellent planted in beds round the
base of trees or among shrubs where they will seed in time to form a blue
carpet. Nothing is quite as beautiful as a white magnolia in full flower
above a sea of blue chionodoxa. I also grow mine with hostas in a woodland bed as they flower
well before the hosta leaves unfurl.
Chionodoxa sardensis is the smallest with intense blue flowers.
Chionodoxa forbesii has larger flowers with a paler centre whilst
Chionodoxa lucilliae
(which used to be called Chionodoxa gigantea) is the tallest, 14cm, and has
paler blue flowers and a bold white eye. Sadly they do not like the
competition from grass and are best grown in beds. White and pink flowered
forms are also available. Puschkinia scilloides, with
its chunky clusters of dark striped pale blue flowers, is another scilla
relative. |
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Chionodoxa forbesii |
Chionodoxa sardensis |
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The name Scilla is often
misapplied to Bluebells, which are more correctly called
Hyacinthoides and need little introduction. The true British native, H
non-scriptus, is best grown in the dry shade of deciduous woodland and
is too vigorous for all but the largest or wildest gardens. The bolder
Spanish counterpart with its stiff racemes of flowers is equally at home
in woodland or a border. Both, once established, can be invasive but who
can forget the sight of massed bluebells in dappled sunlight beneath the fresh green leaves
of a beech tree. One tip if you are growing them in a border, is to
carefully dead head the bulbs as soon as the flowers fade. |
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| Bluebell |
Spanish
Bluebells |
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| Cultivation
These are among the easiest of spring
bulbs to cultivate, having no special requirements other than a free
draining soil in sun or part shade. They are cheap enough to plant in
large numbers for the greatest impact. The bulbs should be planted in the
autumn 6-7cm deep and 1-2cm apart. Most will seed more or less vigorously
and unwanted seedlings can be moved to a new location once they are large
enough to handle – after 3-4 years. Some of the more vigorous Grape
Hyacinths will also produce many offsets and over crowded clumps can be
lifted and divided, either in the spring or autumn once the leaves appear. |
