Bulbs colour sustainably your public green spaces
Policy makers, administrators, and politicians are calling for attention to green our cities and municipalities. However, greening involves more than just planting trees, shrubs, and laying down lawns. Greenery demands colour. Bulbs and perennial plants can provide the greenery with a natural, colourful accent par excellence. This creates an attractive, cheerful-looking streetscape, which in turn adds atmosphere to a city, a sight that feeds people with positive impressions.
Research
Bulbs like Crocuses, daffodils, and some special bulbous plants such as grape hyacinths, snowdrops, or Scilla are known to return and bloom for several years. But when we think of colour, we also want tulips as the symbol of spring and their wide range of colours and shapes. Growers harvest and plant their bulbs every year to be able to sell large sizes. So, there is not much knowledge among growers about the multi-year flowering characteristics of a tulip. However, we can often see that a good perennial bloomer is also a cultivar that is easy for the grower to cultivate; resistant to diseases and naturally multiplies the bulb. To gain more knowledge about non-botanical tulips that bloom for several years, Verver Export has been conducting a multi-year trial for many years. The bulbs are planted in the grass (as a test for possible use in planting under grass with the machine in verges and parks) on heavy and light soil types. Every spring, the number of flowers per cultivar is tested at the trial sites. Based on these results, cultivars in the autumn catalogue receive a multi-year flowering marking.
Applications
Bulbs suitable for multi-year flowering can be applied in various ways.
Lawns and grass verges
Grass provides an ideal background for flowers. Against the neutral green, the colours come into their own. A multicoloured bouquet in a rough grass verge: plant a mixture of different types of bulbs suitable for multi-year flowering and with overlapping flowering times. It creates a special effect and can be planted either manually or mechanically. During the season, the grass with its herbaceous plants becomes part of the planting and adds a pleasant, slightly informal character to it.
Borders
Borders often have a basic planting of perennial plants. Bulbs can be added in various ways, adding a cheerful colour accent to spring. The existing border planting is supplemented with bulbs suitable for multi-year flowering. This makes the purchase and planting of bulbs an investment for several years. For the right choice of assortment, first look at the flowering times and colours of the perennial plants. With this information, it is possible to pour a beautiful bulb ‘sauce’ over the border, not only advancing the flowering season with the bulbs, but also creating beautiful colour combinations between early-blooming perennials and tulips. Don’t forget to create accents with different allium cultivars that vary in flowering time from May to September. Mix the bulbs upon arrival in the wheelbarrow and scatter them among the perennial plants. Plant the bulbs where they fall. Then you will have a beautiful natural, colourful bloom throughout the border in spring.
Among trees and shrubs
Bulbs planted among trees and shrubs must be strong enough to be left to their own devices afterwards. It is mainly the earliest flowering species that are interesting for such locations. They stand out among the still bare wood. An ideal option is a naturalisation mixture consisting of six or more species that succeed each other in bloom. When this mixture is planted in groups of varying sizes, in the lightest spots in a copse or woodland edge, it means years of increasingly abundant flowering. The suitable assortment for this application can also be found in the special ‘Naturally Special’ catalogue of Verver Export with bulbs suitable for naturalisation.
Also for pollinators
Bulbs contribute more than just colour. They contribute to greater species richness, to more biodiversity. (Wild) bees, bumblebees, and hoverflies feed on pollen and nectar. They pollinate the flowers they visit. The variety of flower-rich verges and borders with flowering bulbous plants is of great importance to pollinators. Especially early in spring, when there is still little flowering, crocuses and snowdrops can be an important source of pollen. Bulbs (individual species and mixtures) that contribute to biodiversity are marked in the Verver Export catalogues. This makes the choice from the enormous assortment of bulbs a bit easier for you. If you still need help or advice to make the right choice of species and planting method, please contact your regional Verver Export advisor. They are happy to assist you. The catalogues mentioned in this article can be sent to you but are also available online on our website www.ververexport.com/catalogues/.
