Bulb plantings are fun because the color and beauty they add to your yard are just for a short burst of time. But you have to plant them out to get the most bang for your buck. This starts by thinking of the scope and scale of your project.

Enhance existing garden elements with bulbs. This formal reflecting pool found in Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C., is accented with pink-fringed tulips and yellow Siberian wallflowers planted with blue bugloss and white forget-me-nots.

Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/Robert J. Dolezal

Bulb gardens can be any size and offer any number of attractive designs and plant groupings. Sometimes a mixed bulb planting in a small space with a low-growing and diminutive flower such as forget-me-nots becomes a precious jewel.

Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard

A little whimsy goes a long way, whether decorating indoors or out. While a few small whimsy pieces can generate a smile, too many can border on clutter.

Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard

Scope and scale are flip sides of the same coin. Scope roughly translates to your estimate of the degree of your involvement and the commitment needed to accomplish your goals, while scale measures the size and extent of the plantings you see in your mind’s eye.

If you have a busy schedule and limited leisure time, you should plan a garden that fits with your lifestyle: a few containers of colorful bulbs to feature on the steps of your home’s entry, a trim line of crocus to line a walk or a single island bed in the middle of your front lawn.

If, however, you’ve got more leisure time (and a bigger gardening drive), then you might consider larger bulb plantings. Just remember, in many parts of the country, bulbs require major care twice per season: at planting and when lifting them after bloom. So be sure to factor those needs into your schedule. It’s a day’s considerable effort to plant a few hundred tulips and daffodils, and maybe two more to lift and prepare them for winter storage. But the time is well-spent if you really want that striking springtime garden show.

Of course, you can cut the work down a bit by taking advantage of the right planting techniques, using labor-saving equipment and enlisting the assistance of helpers. For example, consider an electric soil auger for your cordless drill to simplify bulb planting, or (if your budget allows) hire experienced gardeners for a few days to help you install your beds.

And if you can, plant hardy species that naturalize. These reliable repeat bloomers become more abundant as the seasons pass. Species tulips and daffodils, for instance, seldom require the degree of care necessary for single-season, formal plantings – and you can leave them to care for themselves if your climate supports them.

Once you’ve got the scope and scale of your project down, you can start to think about shapes of your beds and what to put in them. The way you arrange bulbs within your plantings creates order and symmetry in your garden.

Massed bulbs – tightly clustered groups of a single species – are most attractive when they’re planted in a geometric pattern. (This is true for multiple bulb plantings, too.) Even gardens that look like they’re randomly arranged are usually based on geometric design elements. Next time you visit a public garden, look for the telltale triangles, circles and ovals, squares and rectangles, and lines or rows. These shapes frequently overlap or are truncated, giving the plantings a casual appearance.

Test out your own designs with a garden hose or colored yarn to help you visualize the edges of your future bulb beds. Adjust the size and shape of the planting until it both fits the site and accommodates any nearby structures, trees or fences. When you’ve got the look you want, use wooden stakes to mark the placement and perimeter.

Once you’ve got the bed shape down, consider what you’re going to put in it. You might consider interspersing your bulb species with another bulb type or with an annual or perennial flower such as forget-me-nots. This creates a high-low pattern that adds texture to your plantings. Just be sure to use colors that look good together – like white and blue and orange and yellow – as well as plants with growth habits that complement each other. For example, the cone-shaped flower form of hyacinth looks great when inset with tall and dainty English or Spanish bluebells.

Always plan your arrangement from the center of the bed to its edges – or from the back of a border to its front, placing the tallest bulbs in the middle or back. As you move toward the edge, step down the height so that the outside flowers mask the foliage of the interior bulbs while allowing the blooms to be seen. The shorter species, such as grape hyacinth and crocus, are easily visible along the margins. Be sure to select varieties with similar bloom times for a striking spectacle, or those that bloom in sequence to keep the show going.

And don’t forget about foliage when thinking bulb plantings – especially when working with summer and fall displays. You can make bold statements with bulbs prized primarily for their distinctive foliage, such as elephant’s-ear or caladium, or create a lush tropical feel with canna or wood lily. Lily-of-the-Nile and dahlia have sustained blooms once they flower, and their lush foliage is attractive long before the color emerges.

While it may sound a little overwhelming to create a picture-perfect bulb display, just remember the real key is to work within your own limitations. One small but beautifully planned bulb display will wow and amaze far more than several unmanageable patchy pockets of springtime color.