Spring Bulbs in the Rose Garden

Planting spring bulbs in the rose garden? Certainly. Other plants? Why not? If you have not done it, you should at least try. I love all kinds of plants and I want to have them all. Some of them I use as a compliment to my roses when I do arrangements.

 

My garden started its blooming cycle in early spring when spring bulbs herald the arrival of spring. Daffodils and tulips of all kinds fight for attention. There are spaces between your roses that can accommodate these spring beauties without competing with your roses. By the time the roses come into bloom the spring flowers will be gone.

 

As you can see from the picture above which was my garden in New York, the center beds are formal parterres with only roses with tulips in between in early spring. The side beds are informal English gardens planted with roses, perennials, shrubs and more spring bulbs. In early spring, the gardens were ablaze with spring flowers. They cannot hurt your rose garden.  It will only enhance its beauty. Spring bulbs make your rose garden come alive even before the roses start leafing out. 

 

To make a colorful display in spring, you have to plant in the fall.  Catalogs are the best sources because they offer more selections than local nurseries.  When you browse through the garden catalogs, look for fabulous colors of spring bulbs to add to your rose garden. To orchestrate the spring bulbs to bloom continuously before the roses take over, stagger the planting of the bulbs. 

 

In NY, I must have thousands of spring bulbs planted over the years. Here in Charleston where I live in a townhouse, I started adding tulips a couple of years ago. This fall, I planted just over a hundred bulbs in front and in the backyard. Since last winter was very cold, more tulips came up in spring. Pictured below is my front yard.

 

Perennial tulips like Red Parade, Apeldoorn Elite and Pink Impression will come back year after year and a great investment. They have huge flowers, good for garden display and for cuttings.

 

Squirrels love tulips but not daffodils and stash them away in the fall.  To prevent squirrels from digging up your tulips, spread cayenne pepper over the tulip bulbs before you cover them with soil. Squirrels hate cayenne pepper and run for their lives when they smell it.

 

Tulip leaves wither faster than daffodils. The leaves start to turn yellow as the roses are leafing out so then I cut them all off. The daffodils stay in the perennial border where I have some shrub roses, Old Garden Roses and perennials and that way, they don’t look so bedraggled while they are drying out.

 

Take a lot of pictures in spring so come fall, you know exactly where to plant for next year’s display.

 

So be bold and experiment.  Plant spring bulbs around your roses and you’ll extend your gardening pleasure. Your rose garden will look magnificent even before the roses reign supreme.