A naturalized bulb lawn provides beautiful blooms each spring continuously with no need for additional plantings. In this week’s encore, I’m joined by horticulturist Peggy Anne Montgomery to discuss the history and techniques behind bulb lawns and to share how to start your own.
Peggy Anne hails from Minnesota but later lived in Germany and the Netherlands, where she married a Dutchman and pursued her studies in horticulture. She spent 15 years in the Netherlands, apprenticing for four years and establishing her own landscape design business there. “They’re really the forerunners in this industry,” she said of the Netherlands. “They do so much so well. They’re very innovative.” Since returning to the U.S., she has worked as a research horticulturist, garden writer and brand manager in the horticulture industry.
Peggy Anne Montgomery is a horticultural professional with over 35 years of U.S. and international experience in garden marketing and communications, public relations and outreach, landscape design, and public horticulture. (Courtesy of Peggy Anne Montgomery)
She returned home to Minnesota to take care of her mother and got a job at Bailey Nurseries, a wholesale nursery, family-owned for over a hundred years, headquartered in St. Paul. “I love the Bailey family,” Peggy Anne says. “We are still close, and I got to work there for 10 years. And they gave me so many opportunities in marketing and other things and to travel with the Garden Writers Association, and I met so many people and I learned so many things.”
After a decade at Bailey Nurseries, Peggy Anne sought a new challenge and took a position studying native plants at Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware, where she currently resides. She calls Mt. Cuba Center an incredible place. “It is incomparable — the beauty, the spring ephemerals and trilliums and everything,” she says. “It’s absolutely breathtaking.”
I completely agree with Peggy Anne about Mt. Cuba Center. When I visited to film an episode of my public television program, “Growing a Greener World,” I was truly amazed. It is located in the Brandywine Valley and the Greater Philadelphia Area, which is often referred to as “America’s Garden Capital,” boasting 50 public gardens within just 50 miles.
Peggy Anne took her knowledge of native plants and started working with and promoting the American Beauties Native Plants brand by North Creek Nurseries owner Steve Castorani of Pennsylvania and Prides Corner Farms owner Mark Sellew of Connecticut. Her current job is with the Garden Media Group, a small boutique women-owned and -run firm that only does public relations for the horticulture business.
Peggy Anne works with Garden Media Group client Royal Anthos, a trade organization for Dutch bulb growers and exporters.
“It is just so exciting that my job is to inspire and educate about bulbs, one of the things I love the most in the world,” she says. “… This is my dream job, and I feel like I’m doing the best work of my life and I’m so fortunate.”
Read on for a recap of my conversation with Peggy Anne. For the unabridged version, you can read the show notes from the original airing in 2022.
Naturalized Bulb Lawns Have Centuries of History
A naturalized bulb lawn uses self-propagating bulbs that multiply easily and quickly. Once planted, they will put on a bigger show every year.
Naturalized bulb lawns are now gaining popularity in the United States but have been common internationally for centuries. Peggy Anne explains that in the mid-1600s, when explorers and plant hunters went east and brought back Mediterranean and Far East flower bulbs, growing these bulbs became a status symbol.
In the north of the Netherlands where Peggy Anne lived, gardens where these historical bulbs are grown are called “stinzen gardens.” The name is derived from an old Friesian word that means “a house built of stone, or brick.” Only the wealthiest of people lived in stone or brick homes, and out front of these homes were bulb gardens.
“The most amazing thing is that many of them are still there,” Peggy Anne says. “So these bulbs have all been multiplying for over 400 years.”
Fritillaria meleagris growing in a bulb lawn. Bulb lawns take a little know-how to get started, but once established and naturalized, they keep coming back with no further plantings.
(Photo Credit: Flowerbulbs.com)
Creating a Naturalized Bulb Lawn
A bulb lawn is a great project for new gardeners because it is a low-cost, high-reward scenario.
“There could be nothing easier,” Peggy Anne says. “This is a garden that you’re going to plant once and you’re done. You’ll never have to weed it. It will get bigger and bigger every year.”
Peggy Anne and her husband planted 1,200 bulbs in two and a half hours on the day we recorded our conversation — which goes to show that bulb planting is far from an all-weekend project.
They started by mowing the turf down low and marking off the area with a garden hose (though spray paint works well too). They made sure to leave a walkway between the bulb lawn and their garden border to provide access for maintenance. Then they used a bulb auger on a drill to quickly make holes to plant bulbs.
As Dan drilled holes, Peggy Anne followed with a teaspoon of organic bulb fertilizer for each hole and a few bulbs per hole. Then she backfilled the holes with the soil that the auger kicked up. She also topped off the disturbed soil with grass seed. This is optional, but annual or perennial rye will germinate quickly and hide any signs of disturbance.
They used a variety of bulbs with different but overlapping bloom times: crocus, dwarf irises, woodland tulips, miniature daffodils, glory-of-the-snow, spring star, Siberian squill, grape hyacinth, snowdrops and winter aconites. She also recommends checkered Fritillaria, Grecian windflower, small alliums and striped squill (Puschkinia).
“Your lawn is really taking on this other dimension,” she says. “It makes it feel like spring is coming early because it’s beautiful, and all your neighbors that walk by are going to just not be able to believe what they’re seeing.”
How Naturalized Bulb Lawns Help Pollinators
When the bulbs come up in very early spring, they will be the first flowers to feed the bees and other pollinators that wake up and need to find food fast.
The best bulbs to choose for pollinators have a single flower per bulb because those have the easiest nectaries for insects to access.
“We just have to remember that every little bit we do is a big help,” Peggy Anne says. “A little bit is a big help, always. We don’t always have to go plant 10,000 of anything. Everybody does a little bit, we’ll get there too.”
Snowdrops (Galanthus) are a popular choice for bulb lawns. They are one of the earliest bloomers, as early as January.
(Photo Credit: Flowerbulbs.com)
Who Naturalized Bulb Lawns Are Right For
A naturalized bulb lawn is not a great idea for you if you desire a very manicured lawn. A bulb lawn won’t succeed if you are putting down pre-emergents and have irrigation lines running through your lawn. You are better off naturalizing bulbs in shrub borders and under deciduous trees — anywhere bulbs can get sun in early spring.
“Dan and I really kind of love our pollinators a little bit more than our turf so we don’t mind so much,” Peggy Anne says.
Caring for a Naturalized Bulb Lawn
You don’t have to wait for the bulb foliage to fall over dead before tidying up your bulb lawn. When the foliage turns yellow, you can begin to remove it.
The reason to leave the foliage on for as long as possible is because as long as it is green, it is collecting solar energy and converting it into energy that goes back into the bulb for next year’s bloom. However, Peggy Anne learned from a Cornell University professor in Ithaca, New York, that his research suggests bulb foliage can be mowed down earlier than we thought — and the bulbs will still be A-OK.
The grass will grow just fine whether you mow down the bulb foliage or not, so for your first mow or two of spring, just cut a frame around the flowering bulbs and leave them alone until the foliage has withered.
Tulipa sylvestris. When bulb lawns bloom in early spring, they provide much-needed pollen to hungry foraging bees.
(Photo Credit: Flowerbulbs.com)
Succession Planting a Naturalized Bulb Lawn
A bulb lawn with the right mix of flowers will bloom from late winter or early spring right on through summer.
“Think about making your shopping list like something for early spring, something for spring, late spring, summer, late summer, fall, and do yourself a favor and spread out that flowering time so your garden is always in bloom,” Peggy Anne says.
Botanical tulips and grape hyacinths will bloom later in spring, while various allium varieties will bloom anywhere from early in spring to well into fall — and alliums are pollinator magnets. Peggy Anne likes the “Purple Rain” Allium variety because the lower foliage doesn’t brown in the cold, as is the case with many tall Alliums.
Lilies, from the straight species to oriental varieties, flower at different times, so mixing varieties is an easy way to accomplish succession planting.
Fertilizing a Naturalized Bulb Lawn
Peggy Anne adds organic bulb fertilizer to planting holes at planting time as insurance. She has good soil with plenty of clay that holds nutrients well, but the fertilizer is added just in case.
The fertilizer contains phosphorus, which moves through soil slowly, so adding it to the bottom of the holes makes the nutrients available to the bulbs sooner. The bulbs are growing roots now and establishing themselves this winter, so it can’t hurt to make phosphorus available to them. “If you’re going to buy these bulbs and you’re going to put your time into it, make sure they’re happy,” she says.
Then, after the bulbs are finished flowering, when they are nourishing themselves again for next year’s bloom, she topdresses the lawn with an organic bulb fertilizer. The fertilizer shouldn’t be high in nitrogen because the idea is to support bud development, not to grow more green foliage.
“It’s only going to make your show better, faster, longer,” Peggy Anne says. “You know, I like to eat — you got to feed your plants too.”
Naturalized Bulb Lawns Vs. Deer and Rodents
Deer, rodents and other critters have a taste for certain bulbs, so if there is animal pressure affecting your landscape, it’s something to think about when choosing bulbs.
“Deer love tulips, and they’ll eat crocus too,” Peggy Anne notes. “But luckily, most of the bulbs that I mentioned today — kind of everything else in the mix besides those two — are not appealing to rodents.”
Squirrels love to dig in any soil that has recently been disturbed, so they may dig up your bulb lawn even if they don’t find the particular bulbs you used desirable to eat. But you can protect your newly planted bulbs by laying chicken wire down over the soil for a few weeks or all winter to keep them out. You can also use natural repellents such as castor oil to repel squirrels and other rodents.
Though tulips and crocuses are a favorite of deer, rodents and rabbits, if you interplant those bulbs with flowers that they don’t like, such as daffodils, it’s less likely that the animals will eat your bulbs and flowers.
Deer, rodents and other critters have a taste for certain bulbs, so if there is animal pressure affecting your landscape, it’s something to think about when choosing bulbs.
(Photo Credit: Flowerbulbs.com)
I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Peggy Anne Montgomery on naturalized bulb lawns. If you haven’t listened to the podcast yet, you can do so now by scrolling to the top of the page and clicking the Play icon in the green bar under the page title.
Do you have a naturalized bulb lawn? Let us know how in the comments below.
Links & Resources
Some product links in this guide are affiliate links. See full disclosure below.
Episode 077: The Beauty and Importance of Native Plants: The Ethos of Mt. Cuba Center
Episode 224: Expert Advice on Planting Flowering Bulbs in Fall, with Brent Heath
Episode 248: Dahlia Growing & Breeding, with Kristine Albrecht
Episode 269: The Ultimate Guide to Flower Growing, with Jenny Rose Carey
Episode 274: Growing Cool-Season Annuals for Earlier Color and Hardier Plants
Episode 286: Naturalizing Bulb Lawns
joegardenerTV YouTube: How to Add Spring Flowering Bulbs to Your Landscape in the Fall
joegardener Online Gardening Academy™: Popular courses on gardening fundamentals; managing pests, diseases & weeds; seed starting and more.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Organic Vegetable Gardening: My new premium online course. The course is designed to be a comprehensive guide to starting, growing, nurturing and harvesting your favorite vegetables, no matter what you love to eat, no matter where you live, no matter your level of gardening experience.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Seed Starting: Everything you need to know to start your own plants from seed — indoors and out.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Beginning Gardener Fundamentals: Essential principles to know to create a thriving garden.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Growing Epic Tomatoes: Learn how to grow epic tomatoes with Joe Lamp’l and Craig LeHoullier.
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Master Pests, Diseases & Weeds: Learn the proactive steps to take to manage pests, diseases and weeds for a more successful garden with a lot less frustration. Just $47 for lifetime access!
joegardener Online Gardening Academy Perfect Soil Recipe Master Class: Learn how to create the perfect soil environment for thriving plants.
GGW Episode 810: The Private Garden of a Public Gardener
GGW Episode 906: Mt. Cuba Center: A Native Plant Public Garden Like None Other
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Disclosure: Some product links in this guide are affiliate links, which means we get a commission if you purchase. However, none of the prices of these resources have been increased to compensate us, and compensation is not an influencing factor on their inclusion here. The selection of all items featured in this post and podcast was based solely on merit and in no way influenced by any affiliate or financial incentive, or contractual relationship. At the time of this writing, Joe Lamp’l has professional relationships with the following companies who may have products included in this post and podcast: Corona Tools, Milorganite, Soil3, Greenhouse Megastore, Territorial Seed Company, Earth’s Ally, Proven Winners ColorChoice, Farmer’s Defense, Heirloom Roses and Dramm. These companies are either Brand Partners of joegardener.com and/or advertise on our website. However, we receive no additional compensation from the sales or promotion of their product through this guide. The inclusion of any products mentioned within this post is entirely independent and exclusive of any relationship.
