Spring pots and forget-me-nots

Tulip combinations and the best narcissus for pots

This week I bring you some spring planting combinations from my own garden where everything has suddenly burst open in one fell swoop because of all the amazing sunshine we’ve had. I adore the sun and I know as gardeners we are now craving some rain, but I know I really mustn’t do that curiously British thing of finding fault with whatever weather we happen to be having. I am revelling in the sun and hoping it will last as long as possible (perhaps with a shower or two at night!)

Spring pots

This year I decided to cut down the number of tulips I grow in pots and focus more on narcissus. It’s much better value growing narcissus this way because they are so much more perennial, flowering again the following year and beyond if you plant them out in the garden. With tulips on the other hand, it is difficult to keep them going even for a second year after they have been in a pot. They bake too much which will split the bulb into too many bulblets and if they do come back the following year they will be much reduced in size. Treated as annuals, they are expensive to replace each year - so I just fill a few large pots with choice tulips and surround these with other spring bulbs for a floriferous display.

I like making up my own tulip combinations each year, having fun with colours and trying different varieties. I’m pleased with this year’s mix which is flowering simultaneously in a combination of gorgeous, rich colours. If you’re planning your own combination later on this year, the crucial thing to look for is height and flowering time - you want them to come into flower at the same time, and to be roughly the same height with perhaps a little variation. Very short tulips with towering Triumphs won’t be a good look.