Beauty from Bulbs Blog

Although rare, failure to bloom or thrive is usually due to a handful of common mistakes or cultural problems, like planting too deeply, too much shade, poor water drainage or an overcrowded panting site. There are several ways to diagnose these problems, and to correct them.

Lefeber Hybrid Tulips have huge, vigorous flowers with an elongated, fluted vase shape, pointed petals and often, mottled foliage. They are the tallest Tulips of all, growing to around 30” tall. They open fully on bright, sunny days and close at night, or on dismal days.

Apricot is one of the most versatile colors one could possibly add to a garden. It blends happily with myriad hues, and acts as a graceful mediator between colors that might otherwise clash. There are a plethora of Apricot Narcissi and Tulips from which to choose.

Flouncy, extravagant Double Narcissi are serious garden jewelry. Defined by the Royal Horticultural Society, they have “one or more flowers to a stem, with doubling of the perianth segments or the corona or both”. They make incredibly lush arrangements.

Green, or Viridiflora, Tulips are delicately feathered green on softly colored petals for an ethereal beauty all of their own. A late-flowering Tulip, these long-lasting beauties enhance bedding designs as well as designer floral arrangements.

Pink Narcissi impart a tranquil beauty to spring gardens. While each variety has its own subtle coloration and form, they all have either ivory or yellow petals with cups or cup rims that are a horticultural pink that ranges from apricot- to salmon- to dusty rose-pink.

One of the most abundant, fragrant and prized of all display and cutting flowers, Herbaceous Peonies are incredibly easy to grow~their beautiful, lush flowers appear every spring without the slightest bit of coaxing. They are low maintenance, prolific and deer-resistant.

The Russian word Gudoshnik translates to painter, and Giant Darwin Hybrid Tulip Gudoshnik lives up to its name perfectly. This magical 1950s award winner will paint your garden shades of solid red to creamy yellow with every streak, blaze and stripe between.

Elegant Lily Flowering Tulips have slightly reflexed, curvaceous flowers for a stylish, almost fluted vase form. They’re available in a sumptuous range of colors.

Another one of our top five favorite Herbaceous Peonies for both garden display and cut flower arrangements is Raspberry Sundae. It's a must-grow for decades of beautiful, fragrant perfection.

Previously classified as Endymion or Scilla campanulata, Hyacinthoides hispanica Excelsior has over a dozen pendant, 3/4", bell-shaped, blue-violet flowers with darker marine-blue midveins on 12" to 15" stems.

While we love all herbaceous Peonies, we're convinced that Festiva maxima would show up on every horticulturist's top ten, no, make that top five, list of all-time favorites for display and cutting gardens.