If you’ve ever admired an early season garden and wondered how they were able to achieve such growth, the answer is probably bulbs. Flower bulbs can be planted in the fall for beautiful early Spring blooms. Alternatively, you can plant bulbs in the Spring for a beautiful Summer garden.
With a little bit of prep work you’ll be rewarded with vibrant colors, fragrances, sights, and sounds of pollinators. Follow these steps and enjoy a great-looking bed of flowers!
- Location
Identify how much sun or shade your location is going to receive. This along with matching the plants to the soil type are the two most important decisions you will make before turning the first spade of dirt.
- Soil
Identify the characteristics of your soil and prepare to amend the soil as needed to maximize the potential of your garden. This process is best done by taking soil samples, having them analyzed, and following the recommendations. You can order testing kits online or ask your local extension office to analyze your soil for a small fee.
- Containers
If you will be using containers, now would be a good time to clean them up and have them ready. Reusing containers is a great way to say money and time but failing to sanitize them before the next season is a risk not worth taking. Be sure to check out this post for tips about preparing containers for spring!
- Tools
Identify the tools you will need and make sure they are in good repair, clean, and sanitized.
- Bulbs
If you have stored bulbs that you lifted last fall, now would be a good time to inspect them for rot. Discard any bulbs that appear to have rotted or are in bad health. If you want to add to your current variety of bulbs or replace rotted bulbs, now would be a good time to begin shopping for those new bulbs–Many stores will ship them as the season approaches.
- Weeds
As the weather and ground warm, work your garden or cover with black plastic to germinate any weed seeds that might be laying around. Early germination of seeds allows you to kill them off and saves you and the plants lots of work during the growing season.
- Experiment
In most growing zones, spring bulbs will need to be lifted before winter. This gives you great liberties to try different combinations of colors and types! When you have an idea, you might want to incorporate containers into your flower beds to see how these ideas are going to come together.
- Take Notes
Be sure to keep a written journal for each garden bed. Each bed is going to experience successes and challenges that you can spend some time resolving before next spring. Any notebook will do, but using a traveler’s notebook with removable inserts is a great way to organize notes for different seasons, plants and beds, or future planning details.
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More Helpful Garden Tips & DIY:
If you’re just starting your garden, you may find these posts about How to Germinate Seeds that Require Direct Light and How and When to Plant Summer Bulbs helpful!
If you enjoy simple building projects that could benefit your garden, check out my post for a DIY Raised Garden Bed. Or show off your container gardening with this DIY Plant Pedestal or DIY Grow Frame!