How to plant a spring bulb lasagne
Autumn has unmistakably arrived. After some unexpected gloriously warm and sunny days last week, one of my children brought in some ice from the garden this morning! But time in the garden doesn’t have to end just because summer’s drawn to a close, and with half term coming up, it’s the perfect time to do some gardening with your children.
Autumn is the time to plant your spring flowering bulbs. Spring bulbs are often the first flowers to appear after winter, brightening up your garden, and planting a bulb lasagne is a fantastic way to get lots of colour in a small space.
A bulb lasagne is simply two or more layers of bulbs, planted in the same pot. By layering up your bulbs you can pack lots more bulbs in your containers and if you choose bulbs with different flowering times, you can also create containers of beautiful flowers that can last for months!
Creating a bulb lasagne is also a great gardening activity to do with children as bulbs are large and easy to handle and it’s fun to choose the different layers of bulbs and then watch them pop up in spring. Bulbs are also very easy to grow as they do all the hard work for you: inside every bulb is a store of concentrated energy and a preformed flower bud that is waiting to develop into flowers!
What you will need:
A selection of bulbs
A bag of multipurpose, peat-free compost
A plant pot or container with holes in the bottom
Old, broken pots or stones for drainage
Plant labels
Bulbs: Tulip Little Beauty, Narcissus, Grape Hyacinth, Blue Starflower and Winter Aconite.
What you need to do:
First you’ll need to choose a pot to plant your bulbs in. Make sure whatever pot you choose has nice big drainage holes at the bottom. You’ll be able to fit more layers of bulbs in a deep pot but you can also make some lovely flower displays with just a couple of layers in a smaller pot too! I chose one medium sized pot which will have three layers of bulbs and one smaller, shallow one which will have two layers.
Now you know what size your container is, you can select the bulbs for your lasagne. If you want to, you can choose bulbs that flower at the same time for one big explosion of colour, such as a few different types of tulips, for example. Or, you can choose ones that flower at different times for a succession of flowers over spring.
Here are some great choices for flowers to plant in your bulb lasagne:
Snowdrops, Crocuses, Dwarf Iris, Hyacinths, Anemones, Daffodils (narcissus), Tulips, Grape Hyacinths (muscari), Winter Aconites, Spring Starflower
Start by adding some crocks or stones to the bottom of your pot to help with drainage.
Add a layer of peat-free, multipurpose compost to your pot so that it’s about a third full. You can add some horticultural grit if you have it to help with drainage.
Now you can add your first layer of bulbs. In general, the largest and latest flowering of your bulbs should be at the bottom of your container, moving to the smallest and earliest flowering in the top layer. So place your last flowering and largest bulbs on the compost as your bottom layer.
Place them with the most pointed end facing upwards, however if you're ever unsure which way to place the bulb, lay them on their side and they will still grow upwards. You can plant them quite close together but make sure that they don’t touch each other or the sides of the container to help prevent rotting or spreading of fungal disease.
Next, spread a layer of compost over the bulbs, enough to completely cover them, and firm it down lightly around them. Then place your next layer of bulbs on top of the compost. Don’t worry too much if the bulbs are directly placed on top of each other as the shoots will bend around any bulbs above as they grow to reach the sunlight.
Do the same again with any further layers of bulbs, finishing with your smallest bulbs, ready to flower first, and then topping with a good layer of compost at the top.
For my larger pot, I've chosen: Little Beauty Tulips which were in our November box and were absolutely beautiful! I’ve dug them up from another pot to include in my bulb lasagne this year - they’ve split into smaller bulbs but they are meant to be reliably perennial. My mid layer is a lovely, ivory-coloured, miniature Narcissus, followed by Grape Hyacinths which are actually bigger than my tulip bulbs but flowered earlier than them last year so I put them at the top.
In my smaller pot, I have Winter Aconites on the top which are from our September box and Blue Starflowers (coming soon, shhh!) at the bottom. I’ve never grown Starflowers before but I’m looking forward to seeing how they grow!
Your bulbs won’t flower until late winter/early spring so, if you have room at the top of your pot, you can add some winter-flowering plants to the top of the container to create a lovely display in the meantime. Winter flowering pansies, violas and cyclamen are all great options for the top of your bulb lasagne. When the bulbs start to grow they will find their way through – you don’t need to remove the plants.
Add some plant markers if you want to so you don’t forget what’s in each pot and then place your pot(s) in a sheltered spot, for example, against the house wall on your patio.
Water your bulb lasagne(s) gently to settle the soil and activate growth.
If your garden is visited by hungry squirrels or mice, adding a layer of protection may be advisable. You can lay cut stems of spiky Holly on top of the container to make a prickly barrier.
Water regularly for the first few weeks whilst the roots are forming and in dry weather - the compost should be kept damp but not wet.
Your pot is now packed with bulbs and ready to give a fabulous display! I always put a bulb planter next to my front door as it’s so cheering to see the green shoots appear when the days are a bit grey and wet - a little reminder that warmer, sunnier days are on their way!
Narcissus and Grape Hyacinths blooming in March.