The spectacular blooms of Tulips, Daffodils, Crocus and more add much-needed color to the spring garden, often blooming for several weeks. But once these blooms fade, they can be unappealing and if you don’t have something ready to take over, your bulb bed could look a little underwhelming come late spring.
An easy solution to this problem is to plant wildflowers in the same bed as your spring-blooming bulbs so once these blooms fade, the wildflowers take over and offer up bold color from late spring all the way into fall.
This companion planting couldn’t be any easier. In late spring, once there is no more chance of frost in your area (and your bulbs are starting to fade), sprinkle a mixture of annual wildflowers in your bulb bed. Annuals will come up and bloom in the first year, ensuring you’ll have color this season. We also recommend adding in perennial varieties so you don’t have to plant every year. (Our regional mixtures are a perfect mix of annuals/perennials). Learn more about planting wildflowers in our article.
Wildflowers are extremely easy to grow in any sunny spot that gets at least six hours of full sun per day.
Erin, one of our employees, did this companion planting last spring once her Tulips and Daffodils faded over the septic system in her yard. She planted Perennial Lupine, Shasta Daisies, Echinacea, Black Eyed Susan and Zinnia mix. Last year she enjoyed a fabulous display of Black Eyed Susan and Zinnias and this year the Lupine, Daisy and Echinacea are all starting to come up.
If you don’t want to try a mixture, select your own varieties like Erin did – you could even plant all in one color if you’d like. The possibilities with wildflowers are endless and this bulb/wildflower bed is sure to become the focal point of your garden all season long.
