Gardening: Looking beyond tulips and daffodils

Fall is bulb- planting time for lovely blooms next year.

Right now the stores are full of a large variety of bulbs in all colours.

The first thing to come to mind when we talk about flowering bulbs are tulips and daffodils. But in our Niagara climate, we can go beyond the common bulbs and reach out for some less known but still lovely bulbs.

I will touch on my three favourites that I love and grow in my garden.

The first to come to bloom is Lycoris squamigera. It is also sometimes referred to as naked ladies. It is native to southeast China and Korea.

Lycoris squamigera is a late summer-blooming bulb of the Amaryllis family. Strap-like grayish-green leaves (to 12 inches long and 1 inch wide) appear in the spring. Leaves die back in summer. Thick naked flower stalks to two feet tall appear in late summer, each bearing four to seven funnel-shaped, rose-pink flowers that are quite fragrant. They like to grow in full sun and well draining soil.

I was first introduced to this lovely bulb in Chanticleer Gardens in Pennsylvania. The entire slope of one section of the garden was in bloom with these lovely bulbs.

Another favourite of mine and next to bloom in my garden is Amaryllis belladonna.

Native to South Africa, this bulb will grace your garden in September with its large trumpets of white, pink to almost red flowers, carried on two feet tall stems. In the spring it will produce an abundance of deep green leaves that die back by the late summer. The tall flower stalk will then emerge. The fragrant flowers will last for several weeks and finally put on a show with clusters of colourful seed heads.

In October/November, my garden is full of lovely tall stems of Nerine bowdenii in different shades of pink. Nerine bowdenii is also native to South Africa, growing in high elevations among the rocky slopes.

The glossy green leaves persist while the bulb is in full bloom.

A number of named hybrids are available in the trade.

All the above bulbs should be grown in well-draining, humus rich soil in full sun for the best flower display, ideally on south facing slope.

Phoenix Perennials of Richmond, BC is a reliable source for these and many more uncommon bulbs.

Laura Grant is a master garden with a home and beautiful garden in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and has been the executive director of the American Rhododendron Society, founder of the Ontario Water Garden Association, and member of the Garden Writers Association, among many other affiliations.