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Some plant partnerships are simply vegetable marriages made in heaven. They just work – attention grabbing so much more effectively than the individuals do on their own. Flower bulbs are perhaps the easiest plants to achieve these ideal relationships with. Use them as the magic ingredients in the border or in pots, to create eye-catching combinations that any designer would be proud of.
I always grow lots of different varieties of tulips. Partly because I adore them – they are one of my guilty pleasures – but also because they offer so many opportunities to have fun with colours.
Featured Plants
Sometimes I mix varieties, and sometimes my cocktails work if the desired combinations bloom together. More often I grow pots of individual varieties, and I group them with evergreen shrubs and perennials. They add that shot of seasonal colour that brings the garden to life as the days lengthen.
Tulipa ‘Ballerina’ is one of my favourites. Delicious glowing orange blooms with sleek pointed petals on strong 50cm stems. I love it rising out of a cloud of blue forget-me-nots or towering above a ruff of dark purple heucheras. Last year I grew it in simple terracotta pots with just a few Tulipa ‘Queen of Night’ thrown in for drama. Against the cream rendered wall of the house it was heart-stoppingly stunning; especially when the sun made it cast bold shadows across the wall. It reminded me that often the simplest combinations work the best. There is no need to get too clever when it comes to making great planting partnerships.
Top: Tulipa ‘Princes Irene‘ and
Bottom: Tulipa ‘Passionale’
In a similar way Tulipa ‘Princes Irene’, teamed up with ox-blood red glazed pots, adds warm colour to the patio alongside acers, heucheras and phormiums. This is perhaps the best tulip for pots with its strong 30cm stems and tough blue grey foliage. The soft orange flowers are flamed with purple, and are probably the longest-lasting tulips I know.
The purple flare in the base of the flower gives me an idea, Next year I am going to plant it with the soft purple Tulipa ‘Passionale’. This is a great tulip with lovely leaves that embrace the emerging flowers. I usually grow it with Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’ This wonderful shrub has such dark purple-black foliage in winter and early spring that it really shows off the lighter shade of purple displayed by the tulip.
Purple flowers are great mixers; they go with practically any other colour. I have also used this tulip as a planting partner for the bright yellow flowerbuds and burgundy foliage of Mahonia aquifolium ‘Apollo’.
If you want a darker tulip I would always recommend ‘Queen of Night’ with its sleek, silky petals and classic tulip flower form. However I also have a weakness for the black swan of the flower border, Tulipa ‘Black Parrot’. This is never the most robust tulip, even the bulbs look rather small and puny when you plant them, but once you have seen it in flower you will not be put off. It is a great partner for any low grey foliage shrubs: small leaved hebes, santolina, helichrysum or convolvulus. Or for a more dramatic effect, plant it against the acid lime-yellow new leaves of Philadelphus coronarius ‘Aureus’.
‘Daydream’ is a tulip I had not grown for a few years and was happy to be reintroduced to. This is a surprising character that opens clear yellow in typical Darwin tulip fashion. I planted it quite by chance with a few Narcissus ‘Jetfire’, that sprightly dwarf daffodil with reflexed golden petals and a bright orange trumpet. This was a happy co-incidence as after a few days of yellow elegance the flower form softens and opens and the blooms change to glowing orange. I positioned it against a blue grey pot with a yellow-striped yucca but I think it would have worked just as well with any golden variegated evergreen in the border.
We are often alongside Bloms, the Tulip Mecca, at Chelsea Flower Show; this year was no exception. The hot favourite was an outstanding glowing pink number with voluptuous large blooms on tall stems; it stood out on the corner of the exhibit, putting its neighbours in the shade. I recognised it immediately as the lovely Tulipa ‘Menton’, a reliable variety I have grown many times and never tire of.
It looks good with dark colours but I love it most with blue-grey shades. This year I planted it against a background of Eucalyptus perriniana, both tulips and eucalyptus grown in soft blue pots. ‘Menton’ is an elegant flower starting as a pointed green bud tinged with soft pink developing into a glowing pink goblet with a hint of soft orange in the petals.
Viridiflora tulips have become very popular in recent years. These have open blooms with elegantly pointed petals that turn outwards at the tips. The base of each petal has a green flare that extends up the central vein of the petal. ‘Spring Green’ is the popular white variety with plenty of green streaking the petals.
‘Flaming Spring Green’ (see front cover of Autumn Magazine) is similar but with deep scarlet flames along with the green. The effect is striking and very eye-catching. It looks great against a plain green background where each bloom can be shown to perfection. Or try planting it with a white variegated evergreen – it was only when I saw it in flower that I wished I had planted it to rise above Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald Gaiety’ – but then, there is always next year.
Planting Tip
Buy tulips now but delay planting until November. Early planting may induce premature soft growth and increase the risk of tulip fire – a disease that ruins both flowers and foliage.
