Think yellow for spring cheer

By Charlotte Albers

As frost approaches many of us are busy readying our gardens for winter: pulling out annual flowers and vegetables, cutting back perennials, or dividing them and replanting while the soil is still workable. While the growing season is coming to a close, it’s the perfect time to think about adding bulbs for spring color next year.

Love yellow? Think daffodils. These hardy bulbs make a beautiful display and come in a wide array of sizes, shapes, and colors. Now is the time to buy.

Locally, both Horsford’s in Charlotte and Gardenside in Shelburne have a good selection of daffodils, as does Gardener’s Supply in Burlington and the Intervale. Online suppliers like Brent & Becky’s Bulbs and John Scheepers have the most varieties and offer heirlooms and special mixes for naturalizing. They carry premium stock, but order now to allow time for shipping and planting before late November.

What’s great about daffodils is that, unlike tulips, squirrels leave them alone. The bulbs are mildly toxic and so are left undisturbed in the ground. Moreover, many will multiply and spread over time to form healthy clumps that can be divided as needed.

The bulbs are also relatively inexpensive and easy to plant, requiring only a piece of ground that’s well drained and free of invasive root systems (such as those around maple trees).  Wet soils are problematic as the bulbs often rot. Check your soil and add organic matter to improve its tilth before planting bulbs.

After planting, add a small cover of mulch (no more than 2”) to protect bulbs from inconsistent snow cover. Once the snows melt next year, clear away matted leaves to allow bulbs room to push up.

For diminutive beauty in a rock garden, ‘Baby Moon’ is a type of dwarf narcissus (classed as a jonquil) that only grows 7” high. It produces multiple pale yellow blooms to make a good show and can be combined with other dwarf bulbs such as reticulated iris and crocus in a range or purple, violet, canary-yellow, and white.

Another dwarf narcissus called ‘Jetfire,’ grows only 8” tall and makes a strong statement along a stone pathway with its yellow petals and bright orange trumpet. These small varieties look best planted in mass quantities in places that are highly visible. Try them near your entrance walk, but locate bulbs away from areas where you might apply salt or ice melt solutions.

Creamy white ‘Mt. Hood’ is an heirloom variety and stands out in the garden. Combine it with other trumpet type daffodils in yellow hues along a woodland edge or in a shady setting where the flowers can be appreciated among boulders and trees, and where they can spread or naturalize. The bulbs will flower before the tree canopy leafs out. After flowering they can be left to go dormant, their leaves slowly browning out as other woodland plants such as ferns, Solomon’s Seal, and Jack-in-the-Pulpit emerge from the ground.

Daffodils make great cut flowers. Many gardeners add them to the cutting garden for this reason and plant enough to supply fresh blooms in April. A mix of pale yellow, buttercup, apricot, bright orange, cream, and white flowers in a jar placed on the windowsill or kitchen table is guaranteed to lift your spirits during mud season.

Charlotte Albers owns Paintbox Garden, a landscape consulting and design business in Shelburne, and writes about gardening for Houzz.com. Visit her online at www.paintboxgarden.com.