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It’s that time of year when the garden is in its full spring
glory, although this year spring has been a little on the strange side with daffodils &
narcissi still flowering in May, this has given the spring garden added depth.
The tulips are revealing their full splendour, tulips have
amazing diversity in colour shape and size, their is a tulip to suit every
garden situation and a tulip to suit everybody from the pale and mellow to the
hot and vibrant their is a tulip for you. Tulips are mostly annuals but there are some varieties that can be left
in place for a few years. Here is a list
of some of the categories and varieties which have a little more staying
power.
All Tulipa varieties are idea for naturalising, Sylvestris is
one of the oldest varieties dating back to the sixteen hundreds it has a lovely
fragrance and is ideal for planting in short grass it can be vigorous; it can
spread by undergrounds shoots, other varieties to have a look at are Pulchella,
Clusiana, Humilus varieties also Honky Tonk, Vvedenski Henry Hudson, Linifolia,
Tarda & Turkestanica, Praestans, their
are some lovely varieties in this section and are worth a place in the garden or
tubs, rock garden, front of border even the woodland.
Other varieties to put on your list are Darwin Hybrid Apeldoorn,
Golden Apeldoorn, Olympic Flame, Apeldoorn Elite, Ad Rem, Triumph Tulips
Negrita, Mistress, Ile de France, Couleur Cardinal, Lily Flowered Ballade,
White Triumphator, Ballerina, Viridiflora Spring Green, Greenland, Parrot Tulip
Flaming Parrot, Fringed Tulip Burgundy Lace, Curly Sue, Multi-Headed Toronto Fosteriana,
Kaufmanniana & Greigii Tulips are also good varieties to consider.
Of course Tulips need help to build up there flower
potential, feeding with high potash fertiliser especially when the tulips are
around 15cm high; you can do this every couple of weeks up to flowering then
stop, deadheading is very important as soon as the flower begins to lose its
colour off with its head, you don’t want it to produce seed, it is important to let
the growth die back for at least six weeks.
Depending on your soil it may be better to lift and dry the
tulip bulbs after flowering, follow the previous information, deadhead and wait
at least six weeks before lifting. If
you want the space for other plants lift and put in trays or trench in the
garden out of site until all the green growth has gone. Clean all the soil off the bulbs and bin any
that look diseased or have been damaged do not compost old tulips bulbs. Make sure the bulbs as completely dry before
storing them away. Replant tulips late
in autumn. Of course all gardens from
soils, moisture and warmth are different and so this can only be used as a
guide.
Store the bulbs in trays or net sacks in warm (not hot) shed
or room that is a little dark and well ventilated. I use old tights (washed of course) I put one
variety and label in one leg and tie but not too tight, then I put the next on
top and continue up to the body do the same in both legs, I then hang them in
the shed where the bulbs can get ventilation. Gentlemen I’m sure your wife/girlfriend will help you out with laddered
tights. When I’m ready to replant I just
cut the bottom of each section out comes the one variety of tulip together with
label this stops them getting mixed up in storage, I use them for storing all
my bulbs but not my Dahlias they need a completely different type of storage.
Talk to your neighbours especially
older neighbours who’ve been growing tulips for years, they will have
experience of varieties that they have left in and come back year on year, new gardening
friendships are made, a sense of community grows with sharing and exchanging
ideas and tips.
How quickly time goes by it doesn’t seem a year ago we were
planning our first Daffodil display to be held at The Alnwick Gardens;
here we are now planning the second,
The Daffodil Event will be held at Alnwick Gardens from 29 March to 6 April
We are lucky to have a wonderful supply of amazing new daffodils
& Narcissi from the breeder Arno Kroon once again on display; as well as a
few of the tried and tested varieties like Bridal Crown, Minnow, February gold,
High Society, Popeye to name just a few.
We will be selling some of these new and exciting varieties
pre-planted in pots at the event, each pot will be packed full with around 15
bulbs per pot they will provide a beautiful display in the patio or
conservatory, some of these varieties are new to the market and will not be available in the catalogue for a while. If you purchase any pots after flowering dead head and place where all the foliage can die
back then they can then be planted in the garden for a stunning display next
year.
Daffodils & Narcissi are the heralds of spring they have
such a diverse range from the Trumpet varieties flowering from the end of
January to the Jonquilla’s flowering into late April a whole four months of
colour, give them a good home plant them deep enough and dead head regularly,
they will reward you for years with there beauty.
If you can’t make this we are pleased to announce Arno Kroon
together with 3 growers will be at Alnwick
Gardens along with Peter Nyssen Ltd on Thursday 18 April when Her Grace the
Duchess of Northumberland will be officially christening the new Alnwick Magic
Narcissi; you will have the opportunity to chat to the growers and gain excellent
incite into the production of Daffodil & Narcissi
We would love to see our customers at either of the events
if you would like to come and chat about daffodils we will be happy to help and
advise.
During summer and well into autumn dahlias are at their
best, with a wide variety of colours, shapes and sizes who can resist them, their
is a place in every garden border, patio or window box for a dahlia, from the
tall to the short, the round to the spiky flowers, dahlias are a must.
If you love to cut flowers for the home what better way than
plant dahlias as the base of your flower displays, the more you cut them the
more they will flower making them excellent value for money and unlike bedding
plants with a little care you will have them for many years.
For a touch of the dark & sensual plant Bishop of
Auckland with their dark purple foliage and crimson red flowers with Chat Noir
and Rip City add a touch of deep red like Sam Hopkins add a dash of blue and
lime green for the wow factor. Eryngium add a different texture to dahlias as
cut flower
Be daring with Mrs Eileen or Jescot Julie “orange” with Sam
Hopkins deep red” add a splash of Thomas A. Edison and Jowey Mirella mix in some
purple asters, veronica and lime green foliage for a little of the bohemian.
Nuit d’Ete, Rip City or Chat Noir is
lovely mixed with Lilies like Montezuma, Dimension or Original Love, blue
freesias or agapanthus and a slight tough of burnt orange.
If you only have a window pox or flowerpot than the Gallery
Dahlias are for you just 30-40 cm high the have a neat habit and will flower continuously
just snip of the flowers as they start to fade.
Now is the time to think about lifting and dividing those overcrowded clumps of Snowdrops; it’s always best to do this as the foliage is just starting to die back. If you can remove any spent flowers or seed pods to give the bulbs the best chance of developing and flowering the following year.
Use a fork and dig deep underneath the clump so you don’t damage any bulbs or the roots; the roots are an important part of the Snowdrop and too much damage here can result in poor flowering, plant the Snowdrops back as soon as you can don’t let the bulbs dry, Snowdrops love humus rich soil. Plant them back around 15cm deep.
Give them dappled shade and moist well drained conditions and the beautiful pure white bells of the Snowdrop will reward you for years to come.
It’s that time of year when we look for the sign that spring is on the way; the appearance of the Snowdrop, this herald of spring will push its way through the snow and ice the tough little flower is determined to shine and have its moment in the sun. Although there are varieties that will flower as early as November -
December like the Elwesii group, snowdrop Galanthus Nivalis is the one we associate with February.
Snowdrops are not fussy about soil conditions grow in moist well drained humus rich soil that does not dry out in summer if you want them to thrive, they prefer partial shade. Lift and divide congested clumps when flowering becomes sparse. Plant around 8-10 cm deep. Allow around 75 per sq meter. You can give them a feed of bonemeal to help them along as soon as you see the first signs of shoots.
February is the time of year for buying snowdrops in the green “ready growing” it is important that the snowdrops bought this way are planted on receipt and not left to dry out, give them a light spray when you receive them to keep them fresh dry bulbs will struggle when planted. Divide the clumps dig the hole to the depth they were originally planted to this is easy to see from the stems.
There are so many places to see snowdrops planted on mass Dunham Massey in Altrincham, Alnwick Garden in Northumberland, National Botanic Garden in Carmarthenshire, there is the Scottish Snowdrop Festival from February to mid March. Have a look in your local area, wrap up and go for a walk you will find yourself hypnotised by these beautiful bells of the snow.
Why not recreate you own Snowdrop heaven we have snowdrops in the green on our website under the spring section or visit our autumn selection from June the dry bulbs are sent from the end of August.
It’s cold and in some places lots of snow lies on the ground but spring is in the air, the bulbs are starting to burst through the soil. Snowdrops are waking from their sleep and the first of the pure white bells are beginning to show. Eranthis “Winter Aconites” are starting to unfurl there leaves, the yellow buds are preparing to open to be followed by dwarf Iris Reticulata and species
Within a few weeks spring will be in its full glory as the floral fireworks begin. The first of the Daffodils which have been brave enough to open are putting on a display, Daffodil & Narcissi have varieties that will flower from January to April from the wild form the delicate; to the bold here I am flowers and lots in between, every garden needs Daffodils & Narcissi they let you know spring is really here.
Prepare for the spring carry a small note book or piece of paper and pen with you write the name of your favourite varieties or take pictures on your phone or camera, create your own must have list, it’s always hard when you try to describe a variety of bulb you have seen three to six months earlier with so many varieties of bulbs available that look similar it can be a disappointment if what you order turns out not to be what you remember.
Make a note of the height and colour; when it flowers the size of the flower, if taking a picture try to take a picture level with the flower when shooting from above the perspective can be lost, show the flower from the side and front if you have a small tape measure take a picture showing the two together. Adjust the camera setting to get the best colour and try not to get too close to blur the image, the sun can bleach the colours so try and keep the sun off the flower while taking a picture.
We would love to see your floral display and how you use your bulbs, plants, corms, tubers, ferns and grasses, the way you plant and your colour combinations, we hope to build a library of pictures to place in our picture gallery to enthuse people to try new combinations and plant types that they would never have tried before, our aim is to inspire gardeners from the novice to the professional and all those who like ourselves love the garden, you can be assured we will never put name or address links to the pictures you will stay anonymous.
We look forward to seeing all your hard work - let the floral fireworks begin.
While looking for new tulip varieties for the catalogue this year we came across this lovely pink variety, bred in The Netherlands and used by an American cancer charity. Survivor is a deep rose pink with a paler edge a Single Late Tulip, it has a strong stem and will stand upright, it can withstand wind and will flower for around three weeks.
Peter Nyssen Ltd is proud to offer Tulip Survivor to help raise funds for research into the treatment of cancer and hopefully in the near future towards a cure
100% of all proceeds will be donated to Cancer Research UK.
In the autumn
section of our catalogue we offer a selection of Lilium that are ready in time
for autumn planting these are despatched from Mid September. A fully comprehensive collection of Lilium
can be found in our spring section for despatch from February. In our special section on the website from
December we will have some wonderful new varieties to tempt you.
Lilies are
stately plants most produce beautiful fragrant flowers. The longer the bulbs
are in the ground the better they become, producing more flowers taller and
stronger stems.
Longiflorum
lilies also know as Easter Lily although they flower in July, are pure white strongly
perfumed flowers, trumpet shaped and outward facing, tall and elegant they make
ideal cut flowers. With the new hybridizing techniques in lilium you can now
find pink varieties of Longiflorum from as little as £1.00 per bulb.
Oriental lilies
have beautiful large strongly perfumed flowers which slightly recurve and
expose the pollen. They mostly come in
shades of pink to pinkish red or white, oriental lilies are excellent as cut
flowers, they come in heights from 45 cms to 100 cms they are ideal in pots or
the border from as little as £1.10 per bulb.
Trumpet
lilies have large trumpet shaped flowers with beautiful fragrance with a good
colour range from white, golden yellow, apricot, deep lilac pink, they tend to
have a touch of wine on the reverse of the flower with the exception of Regale
Album, from as little as £1.20 per bulb.
Species
Lilies tend to be the turks-cap varieties tall with lovely nodding flowers they
have little or no perfume. Martagon varieties
are excellent for woodland planting producing up to 50 flowers per stem once
established, we will have a selection of these on the December website where
you will find them sold as a mixture. Lilium
Candidum “The Madonna Lily” is found in the specie lilies section this is only
sold in the autumn from September to November beautiful pure white fragrant flowers
this is the one variety that is not planted deep it needs planting just below
the surface, from as little as £1.10 per bulb.
Lilium are
a wonderful addition to any herbaceous border or pot no garden is complete
without this floral masterpiece.
In our new 2012-2013 catalogue you will find over 100
different varieties of Miscellaneous Bulbs from Anemone to Snowdrops, the bulbs
in this section are ideal for all garden areas from pots to borders the
woodland and meadow planting
Nectaroscodum can be found under the Allium section in our
catalogue and website.
Ornithogalum “Star of Bethlehem” have stems of around 25 to 80
cms with star shaped white flowers. Arabicum make a good cut flower. Nutans and
Umbellatum are good for woodland planting and the borders. Magnum produces an abundance of lovely starry white flowers. The prices start from as little as 9p a bulb to 60p a bulb
for the taller Arabicum.
Puschkinia excellent for naturalising in the rock garden or
border around shrubs, producing masses of small star-shaped flowers on short
stems at 6p per bulb. Ranunculus brightly
coloured double flowers excellent in the border or pots; they make excellent
long lasting cut flowers from as little as 9p per bulb, they like a little
light soak before planting.
Scilla is a large group from the Squil and Spanish bluebell to
the beautiful English bluebell Endymion Non Scriptus. They are excellent for the border, pots and
woodland planting they will happily naturalize freely. Siberica and Siberica
Spring Beauty are lovely planted with daffodils & narcissi, they start from
as little as 9p a bulb and make a good garden investment.
Snowdrops a must for any spring garden with their pure white
flowers and touch of green, they herald the arrival of spring. From the double
form Flore Pleno to the natural single Nivalis Simplex excellent for naturalising
in the woodland or garden border from as little as 12p per bulb best planted in
September and October as dry bulbs or in the green from end of February.
Sparaxis are an inexpensive long lasting flower excellent
for the border or pots in an extensive colour range from white, pink, yellow,
reds and purples some have a black ring in the centre for as little as 6p a
bulb.
Zantadeschia also called Calla Lily or Arum Lily, they bring
an architectural elegance to the garden, the large foliage and pure white flowers
bring a touch of elegance, ideal for the edge of the pond in damp soil or bog
garden. Zantadeschia can be grown in the border, but like to be kept damp, they
are moisture lovers. Provide a good mulch in winter.
Now the introduction to this years catalogue is done, sit back in the garden enjoy the summer and plan your spring fireworks display.
In our new 2012-2013 catalogue you will find over 100
different varieties of Miscellaneous Bulbs from Anemone to Snowdrops, the bulbs
in this section are ideal for all garden areas from pots to borders the
woodland and meadow planting
Freesias in the autumn are for indoor flowering, they have a
heady perfume in a good range of mixed colours from single to double flowering
from 8p per bulb.
Fritillaria come in a range of flowering types and heights
from the stately Crown Imperials to Meleagris with their checked maroon bells
at only 11p each. Fritillaria are a diverse
group there is a bulb to suit every gardener in this section from colour to
height most flowers are bell or cupped shaped.
Gladioli in the autumn section are the early flowering types
like Gladioli Byzantinus with its magenta flowers make a good woodland plant at
only 12p each the Gladioli Nanus are a mixture of the small flowering types
excellent for cut flower at only 15p a bulb. Gladioli The Bride is pure white excellent
for cut flower at only18p a bulb. All
these gladioli are good in the borders or pots.
Ipheion this bulb should be more widely planted it is robust
and hardy producing a mass of star shaped flowers from blue to white, they have
a light fragrance and from only 6p a bulb worth planting for a long lasting
display.
Ixias or African Corn Lily grow in clumps with starry flowers
in a range of colours from white, pink, magenta, yellow and pink from tall
slender stems at only 7p a bulb.
Leucojum “Summer Snowflake” resembles a large snowdrop, their
beautiful flowers are produced on stems from around 30 to 50 cms, making them
more easily seen than the smaller snowdrop. They will tolerate planting in damp moist
soils from as little as 17p per bulb.
Muscari “Grape Hyacinth” they are an undemanding and
reliable group producing hyacinth type flowers on short stems. Leave to
naturalize in the border, rockery or woodland. They come in many shades of blue
or white and start from as little as 7p a bulb.
