We usually plant spring bulbs for spring colour in our pots and borders - but why not add them to your lawn, too? Many bulbs naturalise very happily in grass, where they will flower for many years to come – making this a sustainable way of planting them.
In the past few years, bulb meadows have been embraced by garden designers. Every April the meadow at Villa Pisani Bolognesi Scalabrin, near Padua in Italy, erupts into a rainbow of colour. It was created for by Dutch designer Jacqueline van der Kloet, using mostly perennial tulips. The result is one of the most spectacular spring garden sights.
You may also like:
How to plant bulbs in borders
How late is too late to plant bulbs?
The best bulb planters
Of course, this is gardening on a very large scale, but a bulb meadow can work in a much smaller space - even an area of 1m x 1m will make an impact and planting under a tree can be particularly effective. The bulbs will naturalise over time, providing pleasure for many years, and will provide early pollen and nectar for insects.
Bulb expert Carien van Boxtel designed the bulb meadow scheme above, planted into grassy public spaces in the Utrecht area of the Netherlands. The scheme looks good from February to mid May. She has also designed a bulb meadow for the lawn of her own garden, as well as many others.
"I always aim for a bulb scheme to start flowering at the end of winter with delicate winter aconites and snowdrops," says Carien. "Crocuses will follow soon after, at varying times. By mid March other bulbs will pop up, including scillas, grape hyacinths and fritillaries. A range of narcissi will flower from March to mid May. Pops of further late colour come from beautiful species tulips."
The quantities here have been suggested by Carien are for a 1 x 1m bulb meadow; scale up the quantities as needed. You may be surprised at the amount of bulbs needed but "More is more," explains Carien. "It is better to plant too many bulbs than too few."
Bulbs for a bulb meadow
Winter aconites
"I always start at the end of winter with delicate winter aconites. Its cheerful, bright-yellow flowers are attractive to early flying pollinators," says Carien. She particularly recommends Eranthis hyemalis Cilicica Group.
Flowers February – March.
10 bulbs
Snowdrops
Carien recommends including an early-flowering variety of snowdrop such as Galanthus elwesii and a later-flowering one such as Galathus nivalis to prolong the flowering period.
Flowers: February to March
25 bulbs
Crocus
Crocus tommasinianus is one of the earliest crocus to flower. The flowers are lilac purple with orange stamens. Carien follows these with yellow Crocus angustifolius, Crocus flavus and Crocus 'Gypsy Girl'.
Flowers: February to March
55 bulbs
Grape hyacinth
The two-tone flowers of Muscari latifolium are blue-black at the base and pale violet at the tip. "The flowers are sterile so will not set seed," says Carien. She also adds Muscari azureum, which has azure blue flowers that are lightly scented: "It is particularly good in meadows as it flowers early and has less foliage than most muscaris."
Flowers: March
30 bulbs
Narcissus
"Narcissi are some of the best bulbs for naturalising in grass, able to cope with damp soil. They’re deer- and rabbit-resistant and a range will flower from March to mid May," says Carien. Again, she chooses some early and late-flowering varieties. "'February Gold' is one of the earliest to flower. Narcissus pseudonarcissus is the native daffodil that gives a naturalistic look. Narcissus 'Actaea' is the beautiful pheasant’s eye cultivar. 'Hawera' is a later-flowering daffodil that has yellow, swept-back petals."
Narcissus poetics var. recurvus flowers in May."
Flowers: February to May
95 bulbs
Fritillaries
Carien suggests Fritillaria meleagris, the snake’s head fritillary, which is widely naturalised in the UK. It has distinctive, nodding, chequerboard flowers.
Flowers: March and April
15 bulbs
Scilla
Carien suggests Scilla sardensis, which has nodding deep blue flowers with white centres, and Scilla siberica, which has nodding, bell-shaped flowers and slender leaves.
Flowers: March and April
20 bulbs
Puschkinia
Puschkinias have delicate, star-shaped white flowers with a blue stripe.
Flowers: March and April
20 bulbs
Snow in summer
Leucojum aestivum has pendent flowers, like giant snowdrops. Needs a wet spot.
Flowers: March – May
15 bulbs
Species tulips
Pops of further late colour come from beautiful species tulips. Tulipa turkestanica is one of the best tulips for grass. Its white blooms have a stroke of silver-grey on the outer petals. Tulipa sylvestris has a golden crown on slender bent stems.
Flowers: March to April
25 bulbs
How to plant a bulb meadow
In autumn, mix all of the dry bulbs together and distribute them by hand over the area you would like to develop. Plant them where they land. This will help create a naturalistic effect and will ensure you have an even spread of textures and colours.
A good rule of thumb is to plant bulbs three times as deep as their height, so depending on the bulb, you might need to dig a slightly deeper hole.
Carien van Boxtel's advice on planting a bulb meadow:
- Make a bulb-planting list in which you take flowering periods, colour, height, foliage, scent and quantities into account.
- ‘Right plant right place’ applies to bulbs as well: some bulbs love warm, sunny conditions, others prefer shade or semi-shade.
- Bulbs are relatively hungry plants: make sure that your soil is healthy, a bit chalky, airy, full of life, with a pH of 7 or more.
- I top dress my lawn every year in late autumn with a thin layer of home-made compost, right after planting the bulbs. A feed of organic seaweed or other potassium-rich fertilser during the growing season is recommended.
- Drainage is key: clay, ideally mixed with grit, is fine for most bulbs as long as it is not too compact; add organic matter to poor, sandy soils.
- Every bulb needs at least six weeks after flowering to die back before mowing. In most cases, the leaves lift off with no resistance. If you can’t delay mowing, use species that flower from January to mid March, or plant them in out-of-the-way grassy areas, under trees or in woodland areas where you can allow the grass to grow longer.
- To enjoy early flowering bulbs in grass from February you need to do a late mow in November to keep grass low before regrowth starts.
- Plant naturalising bulbs under trees with leaves that break down quickly, such as hazel, ash, or fruit trees.
- Use a bulb planter. For bigger areas or hard soil, try a foot-powered, long-handled bulb planter or a drill. For large areas, you can hire a bulb-planting machine.