home & Garden

Look locally over the garden gate with Lucie Giselle Ponsford

October’s garden focus is Bulbs...Every autumn I think of bulbs!! Ha! It’s the small things, if they can make you happy then you’re winning!

There are the obvious Daffodil (Narcissus) Tulip (Tulipa), Snowdrops (Galanthus) Crocus (Crocus tommasinianus). There is no doubt they are a wonderful gift to yourself and the garden. Lying latent under the soil and bursting forth with promise for a new year. However, there are so many more bulbs you could plant that will add interest and WOW to your borders.

Alliums, we all feel pretty familiar with them thanks to Chelsea Flower Show, Nerines, beautiful late summer flowering and all shades of magenta pink (must have full sun, ideally against a south facing wall), Turks head lilies (Lilium martagon) and Foxtail lilies (Eremurus robustus). But what about Fritillary? Crown Imperial, Snakes head, or the purple racemes of Fritillaria persica. Now, in my forever home I will invest in these beauties. They do need a little consideration when planting as they originate from different parts of the world and so need different conditions. Fritillaria meleagris the (Snake’s head) like clay grass lands and partial shade. This makes sense when you know they are native to these regions in the UK, Europe and western Asia. The more resplendent Fritillaria persica or Fritillaria imperialis are from the plateaus of Turkey, Iraq and Iran, no wonder they like free drained aspect in full sun. If I were to encourage you to try one of these genera it would be the Crown imperial. Less fussy than the others so suitable for most borders (though I still recommend a sunny spot) and returning year on year they will tower above other perennials that in early spring will be only just emerging. With their strong stems, whorls of shiny green leaves and bright reds and golds they conjure all the pageantry and trumpeting of the trooping of the guard. Bulbs need to be planted at 3 times their depth in order to flower year on year so the large bulbs need a fairly deep hole. But also in the case of Fritillaria imperialis the weight of the stem and flower can cause them to slump if not planted low, not to mention you’d likely to skewer them when weeding the border. Plant these beautiful bells that chime in the spring now. They could even be the bells that toll in remembrance with their deferential drooping heads; maybe a nod to our recently departed queen? For more garden tips and information visit my Facebook page @mimosagardendesign and our community group @ilovemynewgarden. With love, Lucie

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