April is the time to decorate your exterior with summer bulb plants. These are the plants whose underground part is fleshy and whose flowering occurs between the end of May and October. By extension, they are perennials, although some are frost-sensitive. Perennial does not mean immortal. Nevertheless there are perennial immortals, but that has nothing to do with the chapter on summer bulbs!
Here is a small selection of summer bulb plants and a brief description.
Imagine a large flower head, much like garlic flowers. It's called an umbel. Agapanthus flowers blue or white. The foliage is evergreen or deciduous depending on the species. The leaves are ribbon-like, long, narrow and flexible. Like a ribbon...
The flower stalk, that is to say the stem that carries the umbel, rises between 60 cm and 1.20 m! it's a big one ! Place it in full sun and sheltered from strong winds. The Agapanthus does not like having its feet in the water.
Agapanthus, one of the most beautiful summer bulbs
Well I was just talking about it! Garlic also flowers in umbels. Mauve, purple, pink, yellow, white… between 20 cm and 1 m in height. In the sun or in partial shade, garlic will work wonders.
In the plural, we say garlic. It's ugly, so we talk about it in the singular despite all the existing varieties
Several species of Anemone, but the one from Caen is my favorite. Surely because I was born not far from Normandy. But above all because planted in April it flowers in summer. It is also called Anemone of the florists. She shows us beautiful flowers with a dark blue, almost black heart. The corollas have a color palette ranging from pink to red, but also, white, blue, purple. 15 to 20 cm tall, in single flowers. Its cousin 'Sainte Brigitte' has double flowers.
Same family as garlic, the Crinum resembles a lily, with trumpet-shaped flowers, pale pink or pure white. The 1 m flower stem can bear up to ten fragrant flowers. It will need a sunny spot, sheltered from the winds.
There are hundreds of varieties of dahlia. With single flowers or in a ball like peonies, from 30 cm to more than 1.50 m, with flat or tubular petals, red, pink, yellow, white, orange, purple, and all the colors you can do with these ! The palette seems endless. They need sun, rich soil and a stake for the older ones.
One of the most common summer bulbs, the Dahlia
We no longer present the Gladiolus. Its flower spike in spikes from 30 to 90 cm, shows florets in various colors. Like the Dahlia, it is a safe bet in a garden as the effect is so splendid. There are more than 300 species. Red, pink, yellow, orange, purple, burgundy, white, and even green! Plant of sun and developing well in rich ground.
Several hundred varieties can bloom your garden. The large trumpet-shaped flowers are fragrant. White, yellow, pink, red, orange are the most common colors. From 60cm to 2m tall! Don't get the wrong location...My preference is Lilium candidum, pure white. You might fall in love with the dark red martagon lily, or the dark orange black-spotted tiger lily.
The Lily
All of these bulbous plants require rich soil, with well-ripened compost. Keep fresh manure away from them! They love the sun. Beware of tall varieties if the exposure is windy. You will then need to stake them.
As soon as they have finished flowering, cut the flower stalks, i.e. the stems that have borne the flowers, but let the foliage dry on its own. He must make new reserves for the underground parts, bulbs, corms, tubers, tuberous roots...
Bulbous plants also go very well with perennials in beds.
And you, what bulbs do you plant for your summer?
