NEWS photo Terry Peters
PROMOTING a colourful garden is easier if you natu-

ralize flower bulbs.

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GROWING large beds
of massed tulips and
daffodils can be a lot
of work.

And particularly when it

comes to lifting and replanti-

ng the bulbs cach year. One
way to have spring colour
without all the work is to
naturalize a bulb planting.

To naturalize means to
take a non-native plant and
place it where it will survive
and thrive for years in a gar-
den setting. Most perennials
shrubs and trees in the gar-
den are, in effect, natural-
ized.

The key to success when
naturalizing bulbs or corms
is choosing the right plant

for the right place. If the
right habitat is found (cli-
mute, soil, drainage

then the bulbs and corms
should fast for years, making
your job easier and more
cconomical.

Most bulbs fall into two
categories: tunicate and
scaly. The tunicate ones are
the most common.

Many of the common
tunicate bulbs and corms are
native to western Asia and
the Mediterranean, an area
with a climate quite different
from ours, That area has
cool or cold winters and
long hot dry summers.

Our winters, on the other
hand, are cool but very wet
and our summers can also be
cool and damp.

Tunicate bulbs need sum-
mer dryness to grow and
remain healthy.

To achieve this summer
drought, it is best to plant
naturalized bulbs in areas
with excellent drainage.
Choose a slope, raised rock-
ery, berm or sloping hillside
for the best results. Planting

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close to large deciduous
trees will also guarantee a
dry spot because the tree
roots will soak up ¢
summer moisture.

Most tunicate bulbs pre
ter high light conditions in
spring during their blooming
and maturation periods. The
carly blooming varicties can
be planted under trees and
shrubs that are late to leaf
out or cast only mottled
shade. Allium and anemone,
for example, are more suited
to meadows and need full
sun.

Using a variety of ditter-
ent bulbs, beginning with
winter aconite and finishing
with daffodils, you can have
colour from February to
Junc. Regardless of the
blooming date, the bulb
leaves must be left to fully
mature before they are
removed. Do not cut, mow
or tie before a third of the
leaf or tip starts to turn yel-
low.

The setting should always
look as natural as possibic
when creating a permanent

—E—E —

bulb display. Some people
have been known to toss
them in the air and plant
them where they land. This
technique might create a
casual look but may not pro-
vide the best results.

Planting small clusters in
front of rocks or at the base
of permanent plantings that
will be open to view during
the blooming period can be
best.

For large areas it might
be possible to plant in a fan
shape with the fan stretching
as you get further away from
the viewing arca or use a line
of colour to lead the eye to
another feature in the gar-
den.

The fewer the bulbs, the
closer they should be to the
viewing point to prevent
them from being over-
looked. Reds, yellows and
whites will stand out better
than purples and mauves at a
distance.

A rule of thumb for bulbs
is to plant three times as

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