Tulips are a most sought after plant for any flower garden. Belonging to the perennial family, tulips are grown from a bulb and belong to the genus tulipa which includes over a hundred species. Tulips can grow as short as 4 inches or as high as 28 inches depending on the species you purchase. The flowers can vary in colors but some gardeners say that a true blue tulip does not exist. I have never seen a blue one either but the most common colors available are red, various shades of pink, yellow and white.

Planting tips

You can be creative when planting your tulip bulbs following simple tips and doing a little planning. Simply do a simple sketch of where you want to plant your tulips and you can even use different color pencils to get ideas on the color scheme you prefer. Stay away from planting them in rows, be creative and scatter them around in various colors. To create a season long array of tulips, choose bulbs that bloom at different times of the year. Keep in mind that the more bulbs you plant the better your flower garden will look and you can also mix them with other blooming perennials. Also, be sure to buy your tulips from a reputable company and I recommend Breck’s for their exceptional quality in tulips.

If you have ground cover or grass where you are planning to plant your tulips, be sure to free up the area where your bulb will be planted. Remember, you are planting bulbs and they need room to grow. Tulips need at least a half a day of sun so choose the area carefully. Dig a hole at least 6 inches deep and mix the soil with some compost for proper drainage and needed nutrients. It is also recommended that you add a small amount of bone meal to the soil. Place the bulbs in the hole and cover with prepared soil mix. Be sure to follow the instructions that are included with the bulbs when you purchased them.

One rule of thumb you can follow is to plant your tulip bulbs as mass planting in your flower garden for a great display of beauty. Mass planting means lots of bulbs but you can also start small by planting in clumps of 5 or more bulbs. If you follow the clump method, be sure to space your bulbs at least 4 inches apart. You can also be creative when using the clump method and plant tall and short tulips making sure that the tall ones act as a backdrop to the shorter ones. No matter which method you use to plant your tulips be sure to plant some extra ones for cutting. The idea here is to bring gorgeous tulips indoors while preserving the appearance of your flower garden.

Don’t be afraid to cut blooms from your tulips as the flower itself has nothing to do with recharging the bulb for more blooms. Bulbs get their strength from the leaves of the plant and for this reason it is very important that you leave the foliage intact and exposed to the sun for at least 6 weeks after bloom. The best time of the day to cut flowers from your tulips is in the morning when it is cool. Also remember that to keep tulips in a vase longer it is best to cut them while they are still in a bud and closed but just about to open. You can cut the flower at the stem but leave the foliage intact. Keep your display tulips away from direct sunlight or heat and they will last longer.

Remember that in order to have big, healthy tulips that will add beauty to your flower garden, you must buy good quality ones from a reputable company like Breck’s. This is a company that has been in business for many years and they get their tulips direct from Holland. Almost forgot to mention that planting tulips is a great investment as you plant them once and they come back every year.

Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

BBC - Chelsea Flower Show 2011 - Trailfinders Australian Garden ...
Ornamental plant - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Yardening: How to Grow Flowers: Information from Answers.com
Flower arranging encyclopedia topics | Reference.com
History of Flower Gardening
Gardenia augusta | Define Gardenia augusta at Dictionary.com

Technorati Tags: gardening with perennials, gardening with tulips, quality tulips

According to the dictionary, the word perennial means lasting or active through the year or many years. And, that is what I like about flower gardening with perennials. You plant them once and they come back faithfully every year. Perennial gardening can provide your landscape with many years of flowers, shrubbery, foliage and lots of color. (photo courtesy: deanneart.com)

With perennials you can create a stunning flower garden just by planting lots of different plants of multiple colors. There are no set rules when gardening with perennials and these are ideal for borders, along a fence or against a wall near shrubs or evergreens.

After you decide where you want to plant some flowers, place different varieties of perennials in groups. I normally use tall perennials at the back of a wall in the garden or in the middle of an island bed and follow by planting shorter one towards the outside and low border plants at the edge of the bed. To do this, be sure to choose plants of various colors, bloom period, heights and sun/shade requirements. (photo courtesy: activerain.com)

Most perennials require lots of sun but shade loving ones such as ferns, hostas and bleeding hearts need to be planted in a filtered shaded area. What I love about perennials is that they require less maintenance than annual plants. To minimize disease problems, give perennials adequate space where there is air circulation.

Good rich soil and mulching are very important when planting a perennial garden. Soil should provide good drainage and aeration. Mulch should be applied in early summer to established plants to conserve soil moisture during the hot days of summer. If you live in an area with sandy soil, apply several inches of organic matter such as manure, peat moss or compost to the soil surface and work into the top at least ten inches. Soil to plant perennials should also be rich in Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium.

Did I mention that perennials multiply? After a growing season, you can divide some perennials to prevent over crowding. If you have spring and early summer blooming perennials like peonies and poppies, you can divide them in the fall. Mid to late summer and fall flowering perennials such as chrysanthemums and asters should be divided in the spring. But, iris and daylilies can be divided right after flowering. Either way, you can enjoy beautiful columbines in the spring, peonies in early summer, delphiniums in mid-summer and black-eyed susans in late summer all in the same bed! (photo courtesy: wikipedia)

Just remember that you don’t have to be an expert gardener to have a beautiful perennial garden. Most perennials are easy to grow with minimal upkeep in the form of watering and fertilizing. Perennial gardening has been a passion for many people because you don’t need to buy new plants each year. It does not matter whether your garden is large or smal because you can always find a wide variety of easy to grow perennial plants.

To your beautiful garden,

Diana

Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

Ornamental plant - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
Flowergardener
Articles about Flowers - CNN
AOL.com Video - How to Create Flower Arrangements
Twitter / Kenneth Swiger: New Flower Gardening Techn ...
Flower Gardening | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Technorati Tags: gardening with perennials, perennial gardens, Roses