October 2024

An old wheelbarrow placed in the garden, planted with Bulbs, is a perfect display piece to showcase your Spring flowers. It sets them up higher off the ground for a visual appeal that will have visitors gasping in delight. I’ve seen several Gardens with them planted with both Spring bulbs followed by Summer flowers that are showpieces and conversation starters.

With a little bit of planning, and some Fall planted bulbs, you too can easily achieve this beloved look.

I’ve created a colored diagram, showing bulb placement, with taller, larger bulbs, such as Alliums, or Tulip ‘Akebono’ at the center (orange dot), followed by Daffodils or shorter tulips (pink dot) Hyacinth or shorter Alliums (blue dot) and Smaller bulbs that produce shorter flowers such as Muscari, Crocus, or smaller Fritillary, rounding out the planting on the outer edges (green dots). Depending on the size of your planter/bed, you can scale up or down the number of bulbs needed. For  instance, there are 5 orange dots, denoting 5 bulbs, but you could easily scale down to 3, or 1 and even scale up if a larger space. This diagram is for a wheelbarrow planting that would be viewed from all sides. If planting an an area only viewed from one side, cut the diagram in half.

• Make sure your Wheelbarrow is nice and rusty, for added patina. If the rust hasn’t created drainage holes, then you will need to drill holes for drainage in the bottom.
• There is no need to line the bottom of the wheelbarrow, but you can use the following to help with drainage/pest protection:

1. Some window screen mesh. This helps prevent loose soil from falling through larger holes, and prevents slugs and other creepers from crawling up into soil from the bottom access points. We line all planted containers and pots with this as a precaution against pests.

2. Drainage material, such as perlite, or even loose, light gravel, to help with weighting the wheelbarrow down slightly.

3. A good potting soil. You want to avoid heavier mixes, and compost, as it can be too bulky for containers. For containers, we like G&B Potting Soil, or Black Gold products, both certified Organic.

• Fill your Wheelbarrow with your desired Potting Soil. Supplement with your preferred slow release Bulb & Bloom feed and gently mix into the soil to incorporate evenly.
• Lay our your Bulbs in the preferred diagram,  or planting scheme. They can be packed pretty tightly. For instance, we plant tulips almost touching, as if placed in an egg carton, to maximize our space and get a fuller bloom look.
• Once you have your Bulbs laid out, now you can plant! Plant each bulb type to the desired depth (2-3x their diameter). I typically will have the planter half-full, measure using the final soil line, plant bulbs, then fill up the container with potting soil to the line.
• Water your planter in until water is draining freely out the bottom, then put a bit more potting soil at the top if it settles and you lose some height. Since bulbs have a general planting depth (i.e. 6-8”) a little extra soil will not hurt.
• Place your wheelbarrow or planting container(s) where they will be seen and  enjoyed.

Pro Tips:

• Pack Bulbs in Tightly for a Fuller look
• Do a ‘Lasagna’ style planting to maximize how many bulbs you get in
• Put the ‘flatter’ side of the bulb to the outside edge of your planting. This is where the leaves emerge, and will help support your blooms.
• Choose bulbs with staggered bloom cycles for a longer-lasting planting.
• Tuck labels with the varietals you plant into  the side of the planter, between soil and container, as a reminder of what is planted there. Even better, keep notes of what is planted where. My notes include: name of plant, how many, date planted, source

Protect your Soil through the Seasons

Garden clean-up can either be a dreaded task, so sad to see the Summer beauty go, or something to look forward to. I personally like a good purging and clean-up, almost like dusting the cobwebs away to clear the space and set new intentions and plans.

Our Garden clean-up needn’t be excessively tidy, as there are only slight modifications to make. Taking out any weeds is a priority. Weeds, like any other plant, will only gather strength, setting in roots, and anchoring in the soil until the right conditions set them free to grow and wreak havoc. Taking them out of soils when as small as possible, to mitigate soil disruption, is the best plan, The second best is to pull them out now.

Next, cutting back perennial stems, but leaving enough for stem nesting bees. The second bonus to creating habitat, is that these stems (unless rotting) can aid in architectural support for tender growth in the Spring. If you hate to see ‘snags’ in your plants, simply wait until bee babies have hatched, and left home, to tidy up plants, in Spring.

Pull up anything that could potentially harbor pests, and/or rot. I’m talking about spent cabbages/brassicas, which can really stink once the rains come, and will house an army of slugs in all those leaf folds. Kales and Brussels sprouts, along with carrots & beets, can handle colder temps and sail through the winter, just tidy up any spent leaves on the soil that again can harbor pests. I do like to leave leaves, however, as both frogs and ground-nesting bees will use them as cover and protection, which leads to the final step: Mulch.

A layer of compost and/or leaves as mulch is the only thing left to do. Leaves will protect the soil, and do a myriad of other benefits that are outlined in the article shared below (See Articles of Interest: The Cost of Removing Leaves)

It’s truly that simple. Staying on top of weeds Fall-Winter, will have your garden beds ready for planting come late Winter - Spring, and save you the hassle of doing so much heavy lifting to rejuvenate spent soils. Many light tasks eliminate hard jobs down the line, and what’s not to love about that?