Fall is the time when gardeners plant flower bulbs for spring bloom. And this fall, the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Center/NA is featuring a Cornell research project and website in it’s fall promotions.
Spring bulbs can provide color and interest in gardens early in the season. But their fading foliage later on can be a liability. So The Department of Horticulture’s Flower Bulb Research Program conducted a project from 2004 to 2007 to see which perennial plants might complement the bulbs’ early display while covering up the bulbs’ unsightly foliage later on.
“The idea of pairing bulbs and perennials to achieve multiple goals is so desirable that we felt it deserved more than an anecdotal approach,” says Dr. William Miller, director of Flower Bulb Research Program. “We created an objective study to document what works and what doesn’t in a typical spring garden.”
The project website features the top combinations of perennials with daffodils, tulips, crocuses and other bulbs, how-to tips for creating your own combos, and more resources, including a summary of similar studies in Europe.