Deer-Proof Bulbs Part II


Hyacinths are also favourites with indoor gardeners, as the bulbs are easily forced. If you're interested in bringing their luscious colour and scent inside this winter, there's a useful article by Master Gardener Melody Parker at http://www.wcfcourier.com/col/parker/hya... .

Grape Hyacinth (Muscari)

If you want bulbs that naturalize well, Muscari are an excellent choice, and their vibrant blues look great with yellow and/or white daffodils. Muscari botryoides (Common Grape Hyacinth) has semi-erect, narrow green leaves and bears bright blue flowers in dense racemes 2 inches long; a white version, M. botryoides f. album, is also available. Muscari armeniacum is the other variety you'll commonly find for sale at garden centres; it's very similiar in appearance, but larger, 6 inches tall with racemes to 3 inches long; look for 'Blue Spike' which has large double blue flowers.

Muscari are small bulbs; they should be planted four inches deep in groups for best effect. Whenever I make up pots of larger bulbs such as tulips or daffodils, I like to 'overplant' them with some muscari as their deep blue colour sets off the colour of the larger flowers so well. You can plant Muscari just about anywhere, in a woodland garden, in your lawn or in your beds, but wherever you put them, they need full sun. Choose your site with care because saying that a bulb naturalizes well is a synonym for saying that it can be invasive; Muscari is vigorous.

Scilla

Scilla are another bulb that deserve to be more widely planted; they too will provide vibrant blues to your deer-proof spring garden. Similar to Muscari, these small bulbs need to be planted four inches deep, but they may be planted in partial shade as well as full sun sites. Scilla have green strap-shaped leaves that appear in late winter here; (normally blue) star or bell shaped flowers are borne early to mid-spring. Scilla siberica (also known as Siberian Squill) produces flowers in one of the most beautiful sky-blue shades; Scilla bifolia bears up to 10 star-shaped blue-purple flowers in early spring. Pink and white cultivars are also available.

Fritillaria

You're probably already familiar with the star of the Fritillaria family, Fritillaria imperialis, or Crown Imperial, which has whorls of lance-shaped, light green leaves and umbels of 3 to 6 bell-shaped, pendent, orange, yellow or red flowers up to two and one half inches long. This 'King' of the Fritillarias grows 40 inches tall and blooms April to

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