Not only are fall bulbs colourful, they're an "instant" gardener's delight. While spring bulbs require a long winter's sleep before showing their colours, fall bulbs barely need a nap, blooming about a month or two after planting. Late August and early September is a perfect time to plant bulbs for fall colour.
The bright autumn crocus is as welcoming as its spring-blooming cousins. In my front yard garden, I can't resist planting drifts of Crocus speciosus, one of the easiest and most cheerful fall crocus to grow. Its violet- blue petals look great under the deep green leaves of rhododenrons. If you want to cover ground quickly, try C. kotschyanus (zonatus) -- it increases generously each year, blanketing the garden with soft lilac-rose flowers. Although most autumn crocus fall within the blue-lavender-violet-rose range of colours, you will also find white-petalled ones like the C. speciosus Albus.
Most autumn crocus sold in southern Ontario are hardy to zones 3 and 4. As soon as they are available through mail order houses or at the nurseries, plant them in the ground to a depth of three times their diameter. Within weeks, their skinny leaves push up through the earth, followed shortly by delicate, cup- shaped flowers.
Are there "Naked Ladies" in your garden? No, not the Bare Naked Ladies of rock group fame, but fall bulbs called Colchicums that bloom "naked" without their leaves. That's because their large, strapping leaves come out in springtime, then die back through the summer months. Because of this habit, colchicums are best planted where ground-hugging plants like ivy, periwinkle or lamium provide a lush background for the bare colchicum petals.
One of the showiest colchicums is 'Water Lily'. Its double-petalled bright pink flowers burst into bloom looking for all the world like floating water lilies. A more delicate variety is C. autumnal, which looks great combined with ferns and hostas in a woodland setting.
Another great fall-bloomer is Cyclamen. Many people know this as a potted gift plant for Christmas or Easter. But the hardier, C. hederifolium and coum varieties thrive in shady gardens. Dainty pink or white flowers float atop delicate stems. As if these demure flowers aren't enough to reward a weary gardener, the leaves of the cyclamen are richly marbled, lasting long into the early winter months.
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