The Bulb Slattern

Yes, I'll readily admit that's me. A bulb-slattern...

I have planted a number of tulip bulbs over the last 8 years, ie since my beloved and I moved in together and started renting homes with gardens. First off, several armfuls of gorgeous purple parrot tulips from Avon bulbs. Oh, the joy of picking them and displaying them in the classic Iittala vase we got for our wedding. Heaven.

Tulipa 'Rai'. Photo: crocus.com

Not so heavenly when I scrabbled around in the flowerbed trying to retrieve the bulbs the weekend we moved out a couple of years later, on a chilly autumn evening as night fell. While my husband impatiently waited to lock up the flat and go. They didn't like our new garden, and never showed their frilly purple heads again...

So I left it for a few years, not wanting to waste all that effort again (not to mention money) until we were properly settled.

Then, when we bought our house 18 months ago, and the garden was quite frankly non-garden like, I thought let's try again. In went an armful of 'Angélique' pale pink double tulips.

 

Tulipa Angélique. Photo: johnscheepers.com

 I admit I just planted them without any particular care. Some came up but not nearly as many as I had expected. More went in last autumn, this time pale pink 'Shirley' and dark plum 'Queen of Night'. I live in the hope that one spring we'll have a glorious, romantic display of nodding tulips at the front of the house. Though as I'm a complete slattern when it comes to bulbs I'm not convinced that will ever happen. I've never lifted a bulb at the end of the season, at least not on purpose. Apparently one should. But who on earth has the time?

Tulipa Shirley. Photo: johnscheepers.com

 

Tulipa Queen of Night. Photo: crocus.com

But last week, when I attended a course with Sarah Raven, I discovered that she doesn't lift bulbs either. Hallelujah, I am not the only bulb-slattern! If Sarah Raven leaves her bulbs in the ground then I'm not really a slattern at all. Sarah says the trick is to plant the bulbs deeper than what is prescribed and then to plant something else on top - the bulbs will find their way up from their deeper positions and once they've finished blooming the plant on top can kick into relay action and continue providing interest. This was possibly the most validating (not lifting bulbs) and inspiring thing I learned from the course: being a slattern is OK :)