Spring gardens are nature’s master class in fall bulb design. Let this season’s vibrant blooms and landscapes inspire autumn’s bulb planning and planting. (Photos by Mikki Platt)
Spring has sprung. Trees are budding, the grass is greening and everywhere you look, bulbs are blooming. If you love the season’s pageantry of flowering tulips, crocus, daffodils and more, now is the time to gather ideas and inspiration from this season’s show for next fall’s bulb planting. Yes, autumn is the season for planting many flowering bulbs, but spring is the time to watch and learn.
Garden designer Emily Brooks Wayment lined a path with masses of tall tulips, creating a vibrant statement of color and motion.
A mix of snowdrops, hyacinths, and tulips edges the garden, layering early, mid, and late bloomers to create a continuous wave of spring color that lasts all season.
As you look at your neighbor’s colorful flower beds, public gardens and commercial landscapes, take note of the colors, shapes, and combinations of flowering bulbs that stand out. “There’s inspiration everywhere,” says garden designer Emily Brooks Wayment, who has planted more than her fair share of bulbs across Utah, from clients’ private gardens to the grounds of The Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. “Visit Temple Square, Thanksgiving Point’s Tulip Festival, Red Butte Garden, Tulips at the Grand and neighborhood gardens,” she says.
“Take note of what speaks to you,” Wayment suggests. Consider the layout and interplay of the plantings. Observe how different color schemes create distinct moods, from bold and dramatic reds and yellows to soothing pastel palettes. Take note of height variations—taller blooms like alliums or fritillaries can add drama at the back of a bed, while low-growing crocuses or grape hyacinths work beautifully as borders or groundcover. And in many gardens, layering is key. By combining early, mid and late-season bloomers, there is always something catching the eye. “I like the late spring bloomers the most because we can have late snows,” Wayment says.
Wayment artfully layered springtime blooms of varying heights, creating a stunning display of color, all anchored by a timeless boxwood hedge.
Tall alliums rise above a lush bed of white spring blooms, creating a striking contrast of texture and form.
To ensure the garden remains attractive after the bulbs have faded, many garden designers pair bulbs with perennials, ornamental grasses or evergreen plants. Often, they incorporate companion plants, such as hellebores or hostas, that can fill in gaps and provide texture and interest throughout the growing season. “Don’t be afraid to experiment,” Wayment encourages. “Gardens evolve and each year is an opportunity to refine your design.” Whether you prefer the natural, meadow-like look of Red Butte Garden or a formal, structured displays like those at The Grand America, the combinations you envision now and emulate with fall planting will shape a vibrant, thriving springtime garden next year.
Wayment planted a mix of daffodils to fill the square well at the base of a tree.
“Gardens evolve and each year is an opportunity
Emily Brooks Wayment
to refine your design.”
