March is a month of great contrasts in the North. It may start in a mild, spring-like manner; it may be blustery. One week it’s fair: another it’s wintery. There may be green grass, there may be snow fields; you never can be sure of the weather or the appearance of the landscape. In the far North winter continues to reign, but in the southern part there are many signs of spring. The robins have arrived and the crocuses are sprouting. The Siberian scillas are waving their tiny, blue and white flowers and the strange blooms of the skunk cabbage can be seen by those who know where to look for them in marshy places.

Scillas and crocuses should be grown near the house, along-side a walk where they can be seen close at hand. They are too small and delicate to be viewed from afar. Nor should they be planted in lawns as is often recommended. They do not add beauty to a lawn, nor does a lawn contribute to their loveliness.

Actually they seem lost in a lawn and certainly they will be when the lawn mower cuts off their green tops after the flowers are gone. These plants must vegetate and manufacture food to be stored in the bulb which is used in producing next year’s flowers and foliage. The vegetating period lasts much longer than the 1 flowering period, consequently the l plants are subjected to a much reduced growth period when the mower must be used on the lawn.

Crocuses and scillas and the other very early flowering bulbs, snowflakes and snowdrops, are better grown along the edges of shrubbery beds and foundation plantings near the pathway lights. Just like what path lighting can do for your garden, here they brighten the bare ground while the woody plants still are dormant. Here they can complete their growth cycle without being in the way or distracting your brick garden paths.

Later on they leave the ground bare again and when the shrubs are in bloom there is no competition for attention. A fringe of color along the edge of foundation plantings is very acceptable as long as it lasts no longer than the blooms of crocus, scillas, etc. In the same manner, a planting of daffodils, hardy narcissus or Dutch hyacinths would not be gilding the lily’ if planted at the base of a tree because the life of these flowers is short and they disappear from sight when the tree comes to life.

I can see real beauty and desirability in a planting of this sort under a birch clump or maple. But I would not consider it good landscape art to plant petunias or geraniums or other plants that are showy for a long period at the foot of a tree. Both the tree and the plants suffer by each other’s association. Perhaps these are thoughts that should have been expressed in fall when bulbs are planted. However. I believe that they are appropriate now, too.

Tags: crocuses, flowering bulbs, garden, gardening, landscape, path lighting

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This entry was posted on Sunday, February 10th, 2008 at 9:43 am and is filed under gardening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.