Nobody does bulbs like the Dutch. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that some of the most inspiring ideas for growing these spring bloomers in pots come from Holland. Containers are a great problem solver for plants that have a short bloom life, then look ratty the rest of their life cycle. The portability of pots means you can bring them out in bloom to enjoy in high-profile locations, like on the porch or patio. After the flowers fade, the plants can be tossed to the compost pile, moved back into the growing yard or transplanted into the ground for the necessary process of nurturing the bulbs for next year’s show.
Though the terra-cotta pots are not identical, this group of small vase-shaped containers makes a charming home for bright blooming crocus.
Photo Credit: Maureen Gilmer
This stone urn features permanent dwarf ivy, but each year small bulbs are added to the center to give it striking blue color in early spring.
Photo Credit: Maureen Gilmer
Pots that evoke the shape of a traditional tulip flower become an outstanding composition planted with uniquely fine-textured tulips.
Photo Credit: Maureen Gilmer
Terra-cotta pieces with no plants can often serve as pretty companions to potted flowers and bulbs.
Photo Credit: Maureen Gilmer
Deep blue hyacinth blossoms sit atop an old butter-yellow urn used as a focal point for the end of a long boxwood hedge.
Photo Credit: Maureen Gilmer
Although planting bulbs for springtime blooms is done in fall, it’s still possible to enjoy these flowering beauties in containers even if you’ve missed that planting window. The process is as simple as going to your local garden center, purchasing potted bulbs that have sprouted (but have yet to bloom) and replanting them into decorative containers at home. (Some garden centers even sell six-pack bulb sprouts for this purpose.) The real trick is to present your potted bulbs in the most effective display possible.
Enter our friends from Holland.
The Dutch know how to use multiplicity to make their potted bulbs look fantastic. One pot is nice indeed, but it may get lost in space. When there are a series of identically planted pots used together, the effect is far greater than the sum of its parts. There’s something about the repetition of beautiful elements that really catches the eye.
One beautiful example of this concept is planting small terra-cotta pots with charming little purple crocus. Having a series of identically potted crocus is far more effective than combining plants of different colors. We tend to lose crocus in the garden, but in these containers they can line up on the windowsill or decorate a patio table nicely. Few bulbs match crocus for tiny effects in urban apartment balconies or postage-stamp townhouse yards.
Another way to apply multiplicity is with larger pots filled with tulips. One example that stands out for me uses rounded tulip-inspired clay pots. Inside each pot is a series of unique white tulips, the petals striped in red and the foliage long and linear, much like an iris. This combination of fine texture with the very open flowers more resembles daylilies than tulips. Containers like this can be arranged anywhere in the garden while the blooms last. Once again, this grouping of identically planted pots is key to an elegant look.
Classical pedestal urns also make fine containers for bulbs, and the Dutch never miss an opportunity to create dramatic effects. The urn, with its traditional European style, is really designed to stand alone or in pairs. When used alone, it becomes a primary focal point. When used in pairs, urns typically flank something, like a doorway. Urns share a tall, narrow shape and are typically made of concrete, stone or iron. This form lends itself to short-stature plants that retain their shape, even in the rain.
In Holland, one of the favorite bulbs for urns is the hyacinth. These fragrant beauties, with their rich hues and thick stems, are quite sculptural. The flowers last a very long time without losing their crispness, making the plants desirable for close-range use.
Old stone urns often feature pendulous tresses of dwarf ivy, and it’s easy to add small bulbs to these for a spring display that can be replaced with annuals later on. In one Dutch example, lime green ivy is the perfect complement for pure blue grape hyacinth and Siberian squill, creating small-stature, early spring color in an otherwise large urn.
Urns made of cast iron tend to be less massive and thin-walled, making them better suited to more airy bulbs. Snowdrops and lily-of-the-valley stand out nicely against the dark iron, offering a fairylike quality to a rather simple composition.
Even if you’ve missed the traditional fall-planting date for spring-blooming bulbs, it’s never too late to create a bulb-filled container bursting in seasonal color and elegance. Replanting some sprouted bulbs into decorative planters in spring can be just as effective as burying a few bulbs in fall – and the wait time for blooms is shorter.
Rather than reinventing the wheel, consider re-creating these very same planting ideas in your own garden – whether for the patio, porch or entryway. After all, if these concepts are used by the Dutch to show off their national flowers, you can be sure they’re winning combinations for your garden.
