How to Baturalise Bulbs

Naturalising bulbs in lawns or woodland areas

Naturalising means to grow your bulbs making them look like wild flowers growing naturally. One of the best ways to do this is to mimic their natural habitat. To achieve a natural look, say on lawns or under trees, simply scatter a few bulbs and just plant them where they land. This will also assist with their naturalisation. However if planting them in a grassed area that needs to be mown, make sure that the leaves have died down before mowing as this will slow down the growth and flowering capability in future years. After several years, naturalised bulbs can get congested and this can affect their flowering performance. Ensure this does not happen by digging up and splitting the larger clumps in late summer or early autumn. Break each clump by hand into smaller groups and replant.

Most bulbs like a well-drained soil in a sunny or semi shaded position and need to be well fed with compost, manure or a high potash and phosphate fertilizer. Bulbs need to be fed during flowering each year to ensure flowering in future years. Fritillaria Meleagris (Snakeshead lily) grows naturally in wet meadows, so it’s perfect to plant for naturalising especially in damp lawns or wet areas.

It’s easy to brighten up your lawn by planting a colourful, natural-looking display of bulbs. The beautifully manicured lawn is the traditional goal of many gardeners, but grassed areas can offer more than just a green carpet. By naturalising bulbs in the turf, your grass becomes the perfect backdrop for the bright colours and delicate forms of spring and autumn flowering bulbs. The process involves planting bulbs underneath the grass by either stripping back a flap of turf for smaller bulbs, or removing a plug of lawn and soil for planting larger bulbs. Whichever bulbs you choose your effort is sure to be repaid with a vibrant floral display.

September and October are the ideal times to plant bulbs in lawns as they will have time to establish over the winter months. Choose a patch of grass where you would like to see splashes of colour from naturalised bulbs. It need not be level, as slopes are ideal for planting bulbs. For the most effective display it is best to plant in an area of rough grass rather than a regularly mown lawn. Once the initial preparation and planting is complete, there is relatively little that needs to be done in subsequent years, other than dividing the congested clumps every 3 or 4 ears or planting more bulbs to fill the gaps.

If you decide to plant crocuses, these generally look best in drifts, whereas daffodils can be more effective if planted in bold clumps. There is no need to be limited to just these two types of bulbs though, as there are many other suitable options. Snakes-head fritillaries, snowdrops and grape hyacinths (Muscari Armeniacum) are among some of the best alternatives.