Planting perenials over bulbs

I am new at gardening and have a blank slate with which to work. I want to plant bulbs in the fall for early bloom and then have those same beds bloom with perenials after the bulbs. Would love some ideas.

Works well in our area (cold winters).
Personally, I would be careful in choosing the bulbs. I use species crocus, hybrid crocus, species tulips, hybrid tulips (are early, middle and late ones), daffodils and grapehyacinths (also large alliums and English bluebells - both maybe early June bloomers). Do have to dig out alliums sometimes. I do regret having planted chionodoxa and puschkinia and am on my way to eliminating them from the few gardens I work on. Unlike the others, they don't stay in clumps, but seed all over the place. This spring I saw a lawn infested with them, but I'm sure some folks would have liked the effect. Scilla sibirica is another one of our very invasive spring bulb.
Our first bulbs to come up are species crocus, followed by hybrid crocus. Our earliest perennials are things like lungbanes and some primulas.
Think you need advice from people in your area.
Wish I could start my own garden again! Would avoid lots of mistakes. Some even resulted from bad advice. But then wouldn't be much of a gardener, if I didn't keep learning.

Sorry Cherie - forgot one.
Not to confuse the issue - do use Chionodoxa 'Pink Giant' or 'Giant Pink'.
Useful as it blooms after the crocuses and is quite pretty. I have been told that this Chionodoxa (hybrid?) seeds around, but I don't think it sets seed. I also find that that it stays in clumps. As already implied, I personally would avoid Chionodoxa forbesii (luciliae), like the plague.

I am in zone 7b and have hostas coming up over, hardy tulips, great hyacinth, daffodils, crocus and grape hyacinth. As the bulb foliage dies back the hosta cover it up and no one is the wiser I didn't clean up the area of bulb dead foliage. I must admit this was done by a former owner and not this lazy gardeners idea. But hey I'll take it and like it!

I've got Daylillys interplanted with my spring bulbs. The daylillys come up as the bulb follage is dieing down and hides the ugly follage.

gcorrier,

Get a nice big pitch fork and get right down underneath those hostas and dig them up! They will grow just about anywhere so you can transplant them to a different part of your home that needs some filling in. That's a big reason why Hosta's are popular, because they are a good ground cover for areas that do not get much attention. If you don't have room for them elsewhere give them away to neighbors or simply toss them.. I happen to despise Hosta's (sorry Hosta fans) This will give you much more space to put in some COLOR ,fun perennials, annuals and bulbs.

Good Luck!

LOL jep, Do i hear a little hostility toward hostas. It would not be a good thing to have nothing but hostas but a few can make a statement. Have you seen any of the solid yellow ones?

Jep; I have 4 or 5 clumps at the base of an old oak stump (lightning). I guess you would not be a fan of big daddy hostas planted under a weeping cherry. The weeping cherry looks to me to a cross between a paper bark birch and some weeping thing up top. Really pretty in spring. Nothing under it now but wild violets and other assorted weeds.

I have hosta in all of my shady areas. Lots of it. Plenty to share too if you'd like some!

Half of my front flower bed is total shade. The hosta does well there.

I put some daffodil bulbs in a hole and planted Lamiastrum galeobdolon 'Herman's Pride' over the top. I do not like the effect, and wish I hadn't done it. I plan to dig it all up when I have time, separate the groundcover from the bulbs if possible, and otherwise it'll all go into compost pile.

I've concluded the best thing to do is plant perennials in front of the bulbs. The perennials sprout and grow taller and taller, blocking view of the fading bulb foliage. Mark the clumps of bulbs with 8-inch pieces of bamboo stakes stuck into the ground so that the top 2 or 3 inches show.

One bulb I wish I had never brought into the yard, because of its invasiveness: Scilla. Oh, and Lilies of the Valley are even worse because the root system is a dense mat, really hard to remove, especially if it's intertwined with other plants.