Spring into action

Famous for its display of spring flower, the Keukenhof Park in the Netherland is famous for its spring display.

It also offer it’s Flower Bulb Market from 11 – 13 October 2013. Time to book a trip now.

You can sail around Keukenhof and through the bulb fields, in the so-called ‘whisper boats’. Located in south Holland, near Lisse, the gardens open from March and entrance fee is €8 for adults. Group and family bookings are available too.

One of the truly great things about gardening is the value that is available — I’m talking here about purely monetary value, ignoring for now the many other values it brings.

I first worked in a garden centre during my school holidays in 1989 in a place called Regional Nurseries in Dundrum, now a housing estate, gobbled up by the tiger as she prowled through Dublin.

At the time hebe was the best selling plant in the garden centre. Fast forward 24 years and hebes are still amongst the best selling plants.

In 1989 they sold for £4.99. In 2013 they retail between €6.99 and €10.99. Can you tell me of any other item that has not gone up in price or with such a modest increase in the last 24 years? I certainly cannot think of anything. If you spend €50 or €100 you really will have so much to show for your money and the investment will add to your home and garden making both a nicer place to be. And, of course maturing and becoming more valuable with age.

Many plants in your local garden centre will cost you between €6 and €10. What else in the world has been in production for 2-4 years and is available to buy for that kind of money?

Nowhere is this value more evident than when it comes to flower bulbs — each bulb will cost you only cents. As gardeners we are always thinking a season ahead and planning for future months and years.

Now is the time to source and plant all those spring favourites such as daffodils, tulips, crocus, allium, snowdrops and bluebells.

Whilst the job of planting bulbs may be tedious and sometimes backbreaking, it is such a rewarding task. Unlike many jobs in the garden, you do not see the results immediately. You plant them, walk away and forget abut them and then as sure as night follows day you will enjoy blooms aplenty during spring.

Spring bulbs give such joy and lift the spirits when you see the tips emerging from the frosty, and often snow-covered soil in late winter. You can’t but be impressed when little snowdrops, (which tend to be the first to awake from their slumber), poke their noses up through the ice and cold.

Tulips are of course synonymous with Amsterdam and Holland in general and let me urge you to visit at least once and be blown away by the display of spring planting in Keukenhof Park in Holland.

It’s hard to beat a simple display of red and yellow tulips, there is something so classic about this mixture. And the beautiful yellow daffodil, simple and growing nearly wild in Ireland at this stage is such a beacon of spring and new growth and hope. It’s no surprise that is the symbol of cancer charities all over the world as it heralds fresh growth and new beginnings. Let me urge you to try a few of the more unusual varieties. Over the last few years I have fallen in love with the split corona type of daffs. These are a group that have a split in their trumpet and often this corona, to give it its correct name, is reflexed. Some particularly good ones from this group to keep an eye out for include: Congress — it has large yellow flowers with a flat trumpet which is a nice orange in colour; Cassata — a stunning, very free flowering variety with white petals that are nearly totally obscured by the yellow of the trumpet, which is nearly completely reflexed. A great one for bright colour.

Orangery has a large flower with white petals and large flouncy orange centre, and is not for the faint-hearted but is great to brighten the spirits. Changing Colours, of all the new varieties has to be my favourite, for now. Large white petals with a lemony yellow, large flat trumpet which fades to a beautiful peach/pink colour as the flower ages. Do try to get your hands on this one this autumn, you will love it.

A great tip to get the best out of your spring bulbs is to stagger the planting in the autumn. In other words plant some this week, then again next week and continue right up to December if you wish. The flowering will be staggered as plants come into flower over a longer period, a great way to extend your spring bulb season.

Whichever way you want to grow bulbs, mixed borders, layered planting in pots, in drifts through the lawn or a simple clump under a tree, don’t let the autumn pass you by without getting some into your garden. Your lifted spirits will thank you when the blooms fill your heart with cheer next spring.