If you’ve ever seen an early spring yard covered in drifts of beautiful crocuses or snowdrops, you know what an amazing sight it is. These early signs of spring – bringing hope for greener things to come – help even the hardiest of gardeners get through yet another winter.
Early spring-blooming bulbs are great for naturalizing in lawns and decorative grass plantings. You can even plant
daffodils as along as you’re willing to hand-trim the surrounding grass.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
These scenes of springtime lawns in bloom are stunning in their simplicity and alive with so much color. Some gardeners stick to drifts of a single type of bulb (like crocus). Others revel in adding a variety of species to their yard, giving the impression that the plantings erupted spontaneously from the soil at the gardener’s beckon. Of course, the blooms aren’t at all spontaneous – in fact, there’s plenty of planning and planting involved. But overall, achieving this beautiful show of early spring color right from your lawn isn’t too difficult.
The process of planting bulbs in this manner is called “naturalizing.” At its most basic definition, it simply means planting bulbs informally. You can simply throw markers over your shoulders with your eyes closed and let the chips fall where they may to give your planting a completely random broadcast that mimics nature’s “patterns.”
The most important step in naturalizing is picking the right bulbs. It’s important to select only those species hardy in your climate (that way you can avoid having to lift and store scores of bulbs hidden in your turf each season). If you live in a cold-winter climate, naturalize early blooming spring bulbs in your lawn. By the time the grass requires mowing, glory-of-the-snow, snowdrop and squill will be entering dormancy, so you can safely cut the foliage and still be sure they’ve stored enough food until next spring.
Once you’ve got the right bulbs, you’re ready to start planting. Gather stakes and string, a turf cutting tool, tarp, fertilizer, your bulbs (and their planting-depth information) and a bulb-planting tool and just follow the steps shown in the pictures and described in the captions to get started.
Once all of your bulbs are in the ground, all that’s left is to sit back and wait for the show to begin – naturally!
Naturalize Bulbs
Naturalize Bulbs - Step 1
Mark where you want to plant your bulb drifts or accents using stakes and plastic garden tape (or string).
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Naturalize Bulbs - Step 2
Use either a turf-cutting tool or a sharp spade to remove blocks of sod, including the roots. (Plan on cutting at least 4-6 inches deep.) Set the turf aside on a tarp.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Naturalize Bulbs - Step 3
Decide how you want to display your bulbs ahead of time on a site plan, then place them accordingly. Once you have the final layout, lift one bulb at a time and use a bulb-planting tool to dig the hole 3 inches deeper than the recommended depth for your bulb of choice.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Naturalize Bulbs - Step 4
Apply 10-10-5 fertilizer to each hole at the package-recommended rate. Backfill the hole with 3 inches of soil.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Naturalize Bulbs - Step 5
Set one bulb into each planting hole (pointy side up) and cover them all with soil. Tamp the soil with your palms.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Naturalize Bulbs - Step 6
Return the sod back to its original position. Tamp each turf block to ensure good soil contact.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
Naturalize Bulbs - Step 7
Water thoroughly.
Photo Credit: ©2002 Dolezal Publishing/John M. Rickard
