What No One is Telling You | Designing with Bulbs 🌷

Hang on to your hats, kids. It’s time to design our bulb display! Here are my top 5 tips for a successful bulb display in your garden. Stay until the end because I’m detailing what is currently planted and how I’m enhancing each area for the year ahead!
Happy Shopping!
Kate
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[@rhondaschenk5727]

Wow, Kate! I mean WOW!!! This is the best bulb video I have ever seen. Particularly love your garden design advice on the colors, textures and foliage. Can’t wait to see your spring show! It will be amazing!! ❤❤ thank you!

[@kimberlyadams6301]

I agree! She does a wonderful job of making information interesting and easy for us beginners to understand.

[@kathyv3909]

Dang it, you're making me want to give bulbs another try after deciding I'll just enjoy them in other people's yards. What a great idea to plant an entire container! I think I need to try this.

[@tahoe13868]

This video was especially helpful since you inspired me to run to Costco for bulbs after that video you did! I bought the only 2 allium varieties my Costco had due to deer pressure, which is fine since I am a Bulb Beginner. I will also try to find some Drumstick alliums on line. I'm excited to see how they do for me and now I know how to place them due to your excellent instruction. Thanks friend! 🌷💚🌷

[@HelloGarden]

Oh my gosh… thank YOU! I’m so happy this was helpful!

[@tahoe13868]

@@HelloGarden On a second trip to Costco yesterday, they had Pinball Wizard and Drumsticks!! So now I have 4 different Alliums to plant! I'm so excited and am going to be looking into mole/vole prevention as I have that too. Any suggestions on that front?

[@jasminelouisefarrall]

Oh yes I’m so excited to plant my bulbs 🥰 it’s what makes Springtime exciting for me 🥰

[@pam6204]

O Kate!! Thank you so much!!! This is so helpful and I LOVE your joyful countenance as you present it. So much love from me in South Africa.

[@WeTopia_]

How do you only have 12k subscribers?!? Thank you for such a creative and instructive video. I bought all the Costco bulbs you didn't but new home and my last one had hundreds so lots of catching up.

[@HelloGarden]

Your comment made my day. It’s a long road gaining subscribers and views, but I love spreading garden joy and landscape design insight! So thank you. Your comment gives me hope that I’m going to get there some day!

[@jagodaperich-anderson5058]

This is so helpful! I plan to add several different alliums and daffs--deer resistant. Now for the subtle color story. So fun.

[@HelloGarden]

Yay! I loved doing this video for you all!

[@aimeesgardens]

Kate, if you love Replete, you would love the daff Apricot Whirl! She quickly became my fav last spring because of her soft peachy, apricot, whirling beauty! I don't know how well she will be at naturalizing, but I'll soon find out!

[@juliabinford6500]

Very helpful discussion! I appreciate the emphasis on design. Thank you!

[@HelloGarden]

Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I always hope to start a new conversation.

[@kimberlyadams6301]

Fantastic video!

[@HelloGarden]

Thank you very much! 🌷

[@LindaSilber]

Wish I could plant more bulbs! In Florida, not many. I did find a daffodil that will naturalize. They bloomed this year, and I am hope they return. We do have rain lilies and amaryllis bulbs.

[@tessamarshall4147]

omg SLAWA is stunning. I planted them for a client. Gorgeous with purple too.

[@judymckerrow6720]

Thank you Kate. 🌺💚😊

[@HelloGarden]

You are so welcome!

[@emilydeleon1011]

This video is spectacular!!! Thank you so much for the design tips!!

[@pattyvalinote4612]

Hi Kate, Your selection of bulbs are interesting. They were all lovely! 😊

[@sunshinedunker3220]

This was so fun to stumble across your channel! You have great creative energy that creates that energy in your listeners! Bulb shopping tomorrow for sure! Thank you!

[@MariaGonzalez-nw8hr]

Love your videos! Thank you so much for the information.❤

[@BrandywineGarden]

Just placed my bulb order through Van Engelen - if you’re buying in bulk (quantities of 50-100+), I find they have the best selection and prices. This past spring, I fell in love with hyacinths. Especially forcing them indoors in containers, where you can most enjoy their fragrance. I think Woodstock was my favorite variety, although I thought the white hyacinths had the most pleasant fragrance. Happy gardening!

[@HelloGarden]

Love this!!!

[@ruralangwin]

The best and great prices. The catalog is technical and full of horticultural history. Dont expect fancy photos, They are the real deal!

[@BrandywineGarden]

@@ruralangwin their website has pictures! :)

[@annbergquist4253]

Squirrels are my nemesis in regard to bulbs in my landscape. I’ve learned to rely heavily on alliums and daffodils in my plantings as it seems those little critters have no interest in either.

[@HelloGarden]

Good advice!

[@MyFocusVaries]

Absolutely the same for me in Metro Vancouver BC Canada. Squirrels left my bulbs for years, then dug up and stole hundreds (!) over one winter. That's the last time I planted a tulip. Plus I had just learned that tulip bulbs are treated with a fungicide that creates fungicide resistance (similar to antibiotic resistance). And the fungus that causes lung infection these fungicides treat is sometimes found in compost. Blossom and Branch channel brought this to my attention then I found medical research articles on it.

[@cynthiamillentree4886]

Mine to and yes to daffs and alliums to come to the rescue! Oh, and I cannot forget about the family of deer that eat the tops off my tulips. 😮😮

[@angelab.883]

SAME!!! I feel your pain!

[@jennifermitchell2493]

Yes! I’m in Ontario 🇨🇦 and the squirrels look at tulip bulbs like I’ve opened an all u can eat buffet 😡it’s alliums all the way for me, which can still look amazing.

[@savorit11]

Fantastic video. I live on the Skagit Valley Tulip festival route, I like to have a nice display as people are driving by 50 mph on my 35 mph road.😅 I loath the cold outside planting time for bulbs but it's the best feeling when you see the green shoots popping up in spring. I love the idea of using the color wheel too🎉

[@HelloGarden]

Oh I have had some frigid bulb planting days but they are always worth it! 🌷

[@lrogers707]

thank you for another great video. P.S. love blue and orange together [also]

[@HelloGarden]

You are so welcome! And thank YOU for being here! (And Blorange… 😍)

[@reneeswallow2023]

Perfect timing! Hello from Iowa 5b. Just realized its almost time to plant my bulbs. Thank you for the great tips and for sharing your thought process! New subscriber.

[@joycerichardson1810]

Love the front border color ideas! I love purple (or blue) with orange...I often add chartreuse, too! Go for the slawa tulip--stunning! I love a daffodil called "Slim Whitman," a sport of "Ice Follies" but with a bright yellow-orange flat cup! Love to compare notes with other designers. Crocus and tulips aren't very successful in San Francisco...both are one and done. My guilty flower pleasures are bearded iris...always finding sunny spots in one of my gardens for them. My favorite now is "Nelly Tardivier" (bred by Cayeux in France)...check it out...wowza!!! Kate, I wanted to thank you for the teas I ordered! Very nice!!! And, thank you for your sweet note and extra samples!

[@patmmathiesen1638]

Kate, I just love you. You are so sweet and lovely. Liked the video and got a kick out of you. I must look for some bulbs now. The winter last year froze my bulbs or froze the green on them. 😅in pots.❤Pat

[@cynthiamillentree4886]

This was very, very informative! I will be purchasing a colorwheel, which will help me out a ton instead of guessing and using memory for everything.

[@DzejlanJaylaHadziefendic]

Very informative and helpful! Thank you!

[@HelloGarden]

You’re so welcome!

[@MyFocusVaries]

I tried chicken wire etc to fend off squirrels, but it's a pain to plant around especially if you're planting hundreds of bulbs. So I abandoned tulips (also because of the fungicide the bulbs are treated with-- Google fungicide resistance and tulip bulbs). With a selection of daffodils (so many varieties! I also love the white options) and alliums that bloom throughout the season (drumstick!), the evil squirrels now leave my garden alone. Ooh, also love those iris reticulata. So tiny adorable and SO early!!

[@HelloGarden]

So interesting! I love the workaround and I am going to do a little research too. 😊

[@barbarabranstetter1784]

Great information Kate 💚💚

[@HelloGarden]

Thank you, friend!

[@kateflynn8978]

Hi Kate- great video😁 so much to process… one thing I struggle with is how to place them in my garden. Do you group them, place like soldiers, plant in drifts? Would love to see your plans and how you place in your garden. Do you do consultant work online??

[@HelloGarden]

Hello! I love to place mine in natural drifts alternating the number in each drift. So, an oblong cluster of 7, then 5, maybe up to 9, then 3… and so on. I do take limited consulting projects because of my schedule and I also want to make sure I am an expert in your zone, so I wouldn’t likely be consulting for an Arizona or Texas client as that’s not my power range.

[@Heather0804]

Yes this is just what I needed Kate. I’ve been looking into extending my bulb game. Currently I have the standard alliums and occasionally a pot of tulips. Thank you for the thought provoking look at thinking about different colours and textures in the bulb arena that we might get inspired to think differently and reimagine our 2025 bulb game ❤. I’m planning on building on basics in my allium game and have already ordered the drumstick allium and a few others to extend my bloom time. Then I’m going to add some daffodils (my dearly departed nans favourite, that flower in her birthday month) and some paper whites etc that she would give my mum every year in short terracotta bulb pots that we re-discovered this summer at the back of the shed. I’m hoping to force them to flower in February in the pots as a show for my nans birthday remembrance ❤️

[@HelloGarden]

Oh this sounds amazing! Yes to building on basics!

[@dianacarlyle800]

Very good info.

[@HelloGarden]

Thank you!

[@mellfraze8112]

Accidental bulbs (things that are definitely not what was labeled on the package) are both amazing & terribly frustrating... Amazing because several of them have thrived in my zone 9B garden where others have struggled & frustrating because I have no idea what variety they actually are & therefore can't buy more. When you said "7 months" I got jealous for a minute but then I did the math & realized I have at least 7 months of bulbs blooming because paperwhites start in November for me & carry all the way through winter until the daffodils start in early February. I've looked for & not found a chart for zone 9B as to the whole early-mid-late & winter-spring-summer for bulbs so I'm just documenting bloom times in my own garden to get a sense of what I can expect for how growers label things compared to zone 9B performance. My color story is rainbow 😂 that way I can plant anything I want wherever I want & just embrace the change as things come in & out of bloom. It is very dynamic.

[@tracythomas343]

You must have been reading my mind. I woke up this morning thinking, I need to start thinking about when to plant my bulbs. 😂❤. I’m on a limited budget so I buy my bulbs at Costco. Last year they had drumstick alliums and I bought a bag. It’s been my favorite bulb by far this year. I planted them along my fence line & I love them. They are still there albeit dried, but still lovely. I was bummed they didn’t offer them again this year. I wanted to double the amount. I watched your video when you purchased some at Costco and picked up some of your suggestions. However, I like all the colors everywhere, so I picked up things in all the color families. 😁💐❤️

[@HelloGarden]

Oooo… good job!!!

[@jamaica5930]

I LOVE the narcissus geranium- I hope mine come back this year (cool coastal, “Mediterranean” 9b) & drumstick alliums- I planted fall of ‘22, & they did come back for me this past spring, so I ordered more… I think they’ll look lovely with Mexican feather grass.

[@Thingys-Jill]

I moved here Dec '22 (Boise area) and have been working on the landscape ever since. My front is pinks and purples and my back is purples, yellows, oranges, raspberry tones. Last year I put in about 500 bulbs. Tulips, daffs, allium, and liatris. Then I added catmint, yews, azalea (struggling), salvia, bee balm, gaura, mugo pines, yews, lilac, chaste tree (still a bush but growing), red hot pokers, cone flowers, artichokes (gophers are getting them), marigolds, and my small orchard. Added the veggie garden too. This year I'm adding most of what you spoke about (the bulbs should be here in about 2 weeks). Great minds think alike. It takes more bulbs than people realize to make a beautiful statement. If you aren't a flower farmer, then these flowers will come back yearly. I try to clip down the dying foliage or braid it. Gardens are evolving works of art. Glad I found your chanel recently thanks to Janey at DPWR. You're very informative and delightful to listen to.

[@colinmcknight9605]

We have horrible squirrel pressure, so I have avoided tulips in the past. I am interested in learning about products that will help with that problem. I have had good luck with a grape hyacinth hedge mixed with Scilla. It is planted around a bed of jet fire narcissus under a flamethrower redbud tree. I have variegated liriope filling in the bed later in the season.

[@HelloGarden]

I’ll be interested to see how others reply! I have squirrels but they don’t seem interested in my bulbs (fingers crossed!) I do wonder about a chicken wire makeshift cloche.

[@MyFocusVaries]

I abandoned tulips because of squirrels, fungicide and tulip fire. But squirrels don't touch daffodils, so I've branched out. There are SO many varieties not just the basic yellow. And squirrels also don't touch alliums. Choose a few different ones that bloom across the season.

[@ruralangwin]

I highly recommend tulip Menton and Pride mix! Plant at least 100!

[@InHisGardenCreations]

What a great discussion on bulbs! Thank you so much. I haven’t done much with bulbs at my current home because we are over run with squirrels, chipmunks, and moles. My Ferral cat has done a good job of keeping them away from the immediate front of the house so I might try some bulbs there. I love muscari and paperwhites and looking for a yellow bulb to go with the white and blue/purple. Muscari are one of the earliest blooms in spring and the bees love them.

[@MyFocusVaries]

Squirrels leave alliums and narcissus (daffodils) alone.

[@HelloGarden]

This is great advice! Daff’s and alliums are an amazing place to start.

[@theleefamily6446]

I love daffodils but didn't buy any for planting this fall because of the foliage. I need to find some plant friends for the dying foliage! I am new to your channel, what zone are you?

[@toddthenry7472]

We’re adding some tulips and daffs this year. 😮

[@HelloGarden]

Enabling America… one household at a time. 🤣

[@amyjones2490]

We have such long, cold, grey winters that bulb displays are so wonderful in spring. I love all the bulbs. I’m thinking of adding drumstick allium and false camassia to my “prairie” border. Should be pretty.

[@HelloGarden]

Oh that’s going to be gorgeous!!! I love that idea.

[@MyFocusVaries]

I planted drumstick alliums last fall and this summer LOVED them, but the pollinators loved them even more. So fantastic. They get tall and can flop so you may want to plant at the edge of a shrub or among perennials that will support them.

[@ricaraca]

I placed my bulb orders last month! I originally was going for burgundy/pink/purple/orange (I too was inspired by slawa and can’t wait to see it in my garden!) but I also fell for some species tulips (tulip sylvestris and tulip humilis ‘Persian Pearl’). Hopefully the hodgepodge will have some cohesion 😂

[@ricaraca]

and re: squirrel pressure. There are so. many. squirrels in my Portland neighborhood. They love to bury walnuts everywhere in my garden & pots. Last year they ate a lot of my crocus and scilla bulbs. I try to plant a large volume of bulbs so if the squirrels do discover any bulb cache, there are plenty others hidden around that remain unscathed. Or maybe they like crocus best and ran out of time to find the tulips? Squirrels are punks!

[@HelloGarden]

Oh gosh. I feel a second bulb order coming one… 🤩

[@ricaraca]

@@HelloGarden have you played much with species tulips?? I’m sooo excited to give them a try! Photos of tulipa sylvestris in particular got me so good with her curving stems 😍

[@AmandaKennedy-bv4dh]

Hi, Kate! I have Tulip 'Slawa' in my garden, and also her sister 'Gavota'. I would say that 'Slawa' has a somewhat murky quality, whereas "Gavota' starts with a clear yellow edge, maturing to a creamy white. It definitely gives an old world vibe. Personally, if I had to choose one, I would go with 'Gavota'. I love your style and always look forward to your videos!

[@HelloGarden]

I love this feedback! Is it bad that I am even more sold when you said murky? 🤣 I looked up Gavota and it’s really breathtaking.

[@AmandaKennedy-bv4dh]

@@HelloGarden I'm all in for murky, inky, moody, etc.

[@DzejlanJaylaHadziefendic]

Do you plan to mix up Slawa and Geranium Narcissi or planting them in groups? I am doing similar combo with Geranium Narcissi and tulips and both sure how I will do

[@cindysaenz3560]

I tried planting bulbs last year but had no success in getting one to bloom. The gladiola foliage comes up beautifully, but I haven’t seen one bloom. Do I need to use bulb tone? I also tried alliums but the foliage barely came up for that one.

[@caroleeherrmann-xn9on]

What is a Fria Persia? I could not find it on- line.

[@Gardenscape-NCal10A]

To protect from frost, I use the cut-back to chop fine and place around the base of the plant. I learned that the very best fertilizer for a plant, is the plant itself. So doing this method not only protects from Winter freeze, but feed the plant for fabulous blooms and foliage for Spring. btw, I never changed out my pots to blend with the season or holiday, until I discovered you! I like to marry tulips-daffodils-hyacinth, and ranunculus+anemones. I also plants these combos around or next to something - like a boulder, base of a fountain or bird bath. I just planted Eremurus "Cleopatra." This bulb is scary! It looks exactly like a tarantula - size and all - yikes!

[@GeoffreyMay-o9i]

Try chicken wire on top of pots if you have a squirrel problem and no cat

[@HelloGarden]

Amazing advice!

[@KenIvywood]

We have squirrels that will dig up tulip and daffodil bulbs. So I stopped trying. I do have several different lilies and enjoy them. So tulips I just have to buy some ready for enjoy in spring or cut ones from the grocery store. Thank you for sharing this information. What is the beautiful plant behind your right the color is outstanding.

[@HelloGarden]

That is a mum from Costco, funny enough! I show it in more detail in my fall dining patio video.

[@1210mbw]

🌷😍

[@juliamorrisey5541]

I have squirrels that dig up my bulbs take a bite and then leave the remains scattered around my yard. For bulbs that survive the squirrels the rabbits tend to destroy the green shoots of crocus and hyacinth. This year I dug all the bulbs up after they died back. I am planting them in pots and will over winter them in my garage. I tested this with some tulip bulbs last year and it worked well. I will place the pots in the garden in spring. The pots are tall enough to significantly reduce rabbit damage. I still have squirrels to deal with but it seemed to be a little less.

[@HelloGarden]

The things we do for our bulbs. 💞

[@kiriaioulia]

TRIGGER WARNING: I don't have a garden!!!! I so want one, but have zero clues! I'm binging your channel, learning as I watch, but also realizing how very much I need to learn before I begin!!!!! 😭😭😭

[@amyjones2490]

@@kiriaioulia pot gardens are a great start. Gardening is trial and error.

[@HelloGarden]

💯 what Amy said! Start with a pot or two and take your time… it’s a journey!

[@kiriaioulia]

@@HelloGarden @amyjones2490 Thank you both!!!!!