4 spring-blooming bulbs Western Washington gardeners should buy and plant now
This is a great week to score bargains at the garden center or nursery, especially if there are any leftover spring-blooming bulbs.
If you have deer that visit your garden, plant daffodils — they are toxic to deer. If you have rocky soil that is hard to dig, look for the small crocus or grape hyacinths that need only a few inches of digging to bury them.
The best place to grow tulips is in giant tubs or containers. This way they are protected from voles and mice, and it is easier to protect them from deer and slugs.
Here are some wonderful spring bulbs to inspire you.
Dutch Master Yellow Daffodils
This traditional daffodil is very much like the old King Alfred daffodil with yellow blooms of pure sunshine that grow 16 to 18 inches tall. You can add them to pots or half whiskey barrels now or plant near your early spring blooming rhododendrons or azaleas.
This bulb is not just deer and rodent resistant — it is deer and rodent proof. If mice or deer nibble on this toxic daffodil either above or below ground, they will suffer stomach troubles.
Tete-a-Tete Daffodils
Partner this dwarf daffodil (just 7 inches tall) with the deep blue Squill bulbs and you’ll have a vision of blue and yellow that will return each spring. Short daffodils are the most likely to perennialize, or return year after year, and once you plant this early-flowering charmer you can divide up the clumps every few years and move them around your garden.
I also love this daffodil near clumps of black mondo grass for an elegant look that can fit into the smallest of gardens. Even balcony gardeners can add this daffodil to pots and planters that once held summer annuals.
No need to fertilizer the old potting soil. Just rip out the dead plants of summer and poke in the daffodil bulbs. The flower is already formed inside the bulb, so as long as it gets a good winter chill and has good drainage to prevent rotting, the dwarf daffodils will bloom for you this spring.
Alliums
The huge, round purple blooms on alliums are held up by 3 foot stems to become a real show stopper in the late spring garden. Alliums are another bulb that is a deer- and rodent-proof bloomer. There are many different types of alliums, including the white flowering “Mount Everest” and the intriguing ‘Schubertii’ with shorter stems and spider- like huge heads of flowers.
Let me say now these giant bulbs that grow the giant blooms are not cheap. You can expect to pay several dollars for just one “Globemaster” allium bulb. But some of the smaller alliums are more reasonably priced. An allium called “Purple Sensation” has 4-inch flowers rather than dinner plate-sized blooms but you can find deals on this smaller allium variety as low as $15 for a group of 25 at online wholesalers.
Snowdrops
If you love how early the hellebores brighten the winter garden, you need to plant some Snowdrops (Galanthus) bulbs this fall. Snowdrops are the earliest to bulbs to bloom in Western Washington gardens and are another deer- and rodent-proof bulb.
The pure white flowers hang like pendants from the 6-inch stems and they look especially fetching under the pendulous skirts of grafted or dwarf Japanese maples. Any tree that loses it leaves in the winter is a great companion for snowdrop bulbs as this moisture-loving bulb loves the leaf mold that forms under the canopy of deciduous trees.
Just like the mini daffodils, you can divide up your snowdrop bulbs to share or spread about the garden.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of several books. Reach her at binettigarden.com.
