I live in Montana and I want to make a flower bed at the start of my drive way. It will be 2 x 3 feet.
How do I plant tulips, daffodils, and easter lilies to get spring flowers. And then I would like to have some flowers in it that would bloom until late fall.
Can any body tell me how to build a flower bed like this? And what kind of soil do I need?
How to plant tulips, daffodils, and easter lilies
Tulip and daffodil bulbs should be planted in the fall for spring blooming. Easter lilies bloom in the summer, but are they hardy in your zone anyway? maybe not? what is your zone?
About the time your daffodil and tulips are done in the spring, you could have some daylilies blooming. They are good and hardy. Late summer/ fall perennials like coneflowers or black-eyed susans are extremely easy and hardy. Do you have time left in your growing season to put some daylilies in this fall? Just plant them over the top of the bulbs.
Your soil will probably benefit from some organic humus or "garden soil".
Are you putting in a totally new bed???
If so you'll have to prep the area...
a lasagna bed is highly recommended by a lot of us
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1037637/
Here's great info direct from John Scheepers....
Prepare Your Planting Site
Make sure that you select a planting site with appropriate sunlight and good water drainage. Tulips and narcissi prefer part-day, full sunlight or filtered sunlight for optimum coloration and prolonged flowering periods. Bulbs will not grow in an area with poor water drainage (they hate "wet feet"). For clay soil, add sand or peat moss. For sandy soil, add peat moss or aged leaf compost. Flower bulbs prefer neutral pH soil (soil test results should be "7"). Never add horse manure, mushroom compost or other "hot" manure or compost to your flower bulb beds. Determine the proper planting depth and spacing for your bulbs according to our chart. Dig 2" to 3" below the planting depth to loosen the soil to promote thorough root development
Plant Your Bulbs
Plant your bulbs once the weather has turned consistently cool and before the ground has frozen. Place the bulbs firmly in the soil with the pointed end up. See the Planting Chart for specific planting information; the general rule of thumb is to cover the top of each bulb with 3" to 4" of top soil without breaking off any sprout growth. Feed your bulbs with our Dutch Organic Bulb Food three times a year: at planting time in the fall; when the sprouts first push through the soil in the spring and when the foliage dies in the summer. To prevent the possibility of root burn, lightly dust the bulb food over the surface of the garden bed as a top dressing after you finish planting your bulbs. Please do not mix fertilizer into each hole; broadcast the fertilizer over the surface of the bed and water it in. If there is a prolonged, dry fall, water your flower bulb beds occasionally. Cover the beds with about 2" of mulch after the ground freezes completely. Mulching helps retain ground moisture and helps protect bulbs from temperature spiking. Some good mulching mediums include straw, salt marsh hay or oak leaves.
Spring Tips
In the early spring, remove the mulch as soon as the flower shoots emerge. Carefully top dress your flower beds with a second application of bulb food. After your bulbs bloom, "dead head" the flowers as soon as they have faded, leaving the foliage and stems to die back naturally. Apply a third application of bulb food to strengthen the bulb. Remove dead foliage once it dies naturally. Bulbs are best left to regenerate in the ground!
Are you putting in a totally new bed???
If so you'll have to prep the area...
a lasagna bed is highly recommended by a lot of us
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1037637/
Here's great info direct from John Scheepers....
Prepare Your Planting Site
Make sure that you select a planting site with appropriate sunlight and good water drainage. Tulips and narcissi prefer part-day, full sunlight or filtered sunlight for optimum coloration and prolonged flowering periods. Bulbs will not grow in an area with poor water drainage (they hate "wet feet"). For clay soil, add sand or peat moss. For sandy soil, add peat moss or aged leaf compost. Flower bulbs prefer neutral pH soil (soil test results should be "7"). Never add horse manure, mushroom compost or other "hot" manure or compost to your flower bulb beds. Determine the proper planting depth and spacing for your bulbs according to our chart. Dig 2" to 3" below the planting depth to loosen the soil to promote thorough root development
Plant Your Bulbs
Plant your bulbs once the weather has turned consistently cool and before the ground has frozen. Place the bulbs firmly in the soil with the pointed end up. See the Planting Chart for specific planting information; the general rule of thumb is to cover the top of each bulb with 3" to 4" of top soil without breaking off any sprout growth. Feed your bulbs with our Dutch Organic Bulb Food three times a year: at planting time in the fall; when the sprouts first push through the soil in the spring and when the foliage dies in the summer. To prevent the possibility of root burn, lightly dust the bulb food over the surface of the garden bed as a top dressing after you finish planting your bulbs. Please do not mix fertilizer into each hole; broadcast the fertilizer over the surface of the bed and water it in. If there is a prolonged, dry fall, water your flower bulb beds occasionally. Cover the beds with about 2" of mulch after the ground freezes completely. Mulching helps retain ground moisture and helps protect bulbs from temperature spiking. Some good mulching mediums include straw, salt marsh hay or oak leaves.
Spring Tips
In the early spring, remove the mulch as soon as the flower shoots emerge. Carefully top dress your flower beds with a second application of bulb food. After your bulbs bloom, "dead head" the flowers as soon as they have faded, leaving the foliage and stems to die back naturally. Apply a third application of bulb food to strengthen the bulb. Remove dead foliage once it dies naturally. Bulbs are best left to regenerate in the ground!
Yes this is a totally new bed. It will be a raised bed made from rock. And I'm in Zone 4.
What are some examples of other "hot" manure or compost?
Where can I find this "bulbs according to our chart", "See the Planting Chart for specific planting information"?
After my bulbs are finished blooming in the spring. I want to plant in the same bed some other flowers that will attract Butterflies and Hummingbirds on until frost. So how and when would I do this? What kind of flowers would you suggest?
" (they hate "wet feet")." and so do I :)
Hot compost info
http://www.grandpas-wisdom.com/hot-compost.html
When I create a new bed that I'll be using immediately I just layer newspaper(nothing glossy) wet it down and then add some garden soil and then mulch, then cut holes right thru the paper to plant
The planting info was from John Scheepers
http://www.johnscheepers.com/
You will usually receive a planting chart with your bulbs if you order from an on line company
You can do all your planting this fall, so you can plant the bulbs first and then overplant with perennials.
Here's a good pre planned butterfly garden from Bluestone, good down to zone 4 with snow cover....
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/BUTTER.html
and here are results for advanced search for your zone for hummingbirds
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/scan/MM=b8c49555a0d77ab9f48392571178361b:0:44:45.html?mv_more_ip=1&mv_nextpage=results_pics&from_qualify=&mv_arg=
Here's a good pre planned butterfly garden from Bluestone, good down to zone 4 with snow cover....
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/BUTTER.html
and here are results for advanced search for your zone for hummingbirds
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/scan/MM=b8c49555a0d77ab9f48392571178361b:0:44:45.html?mv_more_ip=1&mv_nextpage=results_pics&from_qualify=&mv_arg=
"here are results for advanced search for your zone for hummingbirds" I could not get this link to work. Could you resend this link to me again? Or tell me how you the advanced search.
Could I plant Annuals instead of Perennials that attract Butterflies and Hummingbirds over my tulips and other bulbs? If so when and how would I plant them?
Annuals would be planted after last frost in spring...you can also start seeds inside to get a head start.
annuals for butterflies would be
cosmos,heliotrope, lantana, sweet Alyssum, verbena, zinnia, Nasturtium,sunflower, snapdragon, Scabiosa, sweet pea
Herbs also
dill, parsley, mint, lavender, fennell, chives
Hummingbird
begonia, Fuchsias, Bougainvillea, Indian Paintbrush, Monkeyflower, african foxglove, Mirabilis(4 o'clocks), morning glory
For both
salvia, Impatiens, Nicotiana, petunia
Hummingbirds love red monarda (beebalm), too. Jacob Cline is a good one.
I'm not a fan of monarda that's why I didn't list it.
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