Internationally acclaimed designer, Jacqueline van der Kloet, shares her extensive knowledge and expertise in her book, Growing Bulbs in the Natural Garden. Comprehensive in nature, the book includes the basic information on choosing, planting, and caring for bulbs as well as recommendations for combining them with grasses and other perennials, tips for creating year-round interest in the garden, and annotated lists of bulbs. The emphasis throughout the book is on a naturalistic landscape that respects ecological concerns and encourages sustainable gardening practices.
A section that focus on color is especially helpful and noteworthy. It considers the characteristics of the color, the interaction of different colors, and how color can be used in the garden to create various effects. Plant combinations of bulbs, perennials and grasses are given with specific cultivars and varieties named. For example, we learn that the color gray, common in the foliage among species of Brunnera, Stachys, and Lavandula, mutes colorful plants and is often used to calm them and bind them together. Plants with gray foliage are especially valuable with bright colored plants like Anemone coronaria, bicolored dahlias, and Canna with terra-cotta leaves.
Other sections of the book give suggestions for attracting pollinators, naturalizing bulbs, planting bulbs in lawns, extending bloom-time, and using bulbs in containers, balconies, and roof gardens. Also included are descriptions of the author’s design contribution to six gardens around the world including the Netherlands, Germany, United Kingdom, US, and Japan. A final section presents plant profiles of van der Kloet’s favorite spring, summer, autumn, and winter-flowering bulbs with a photograph of each species.
Growing Bulbs in the Natural Garden is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to integrate bulbs into their garden. It combines basic general knowledge and practical advice with specific details about individual bulbs in a way that is easy to understand and encourages experimentation. A word of caution, however; the book is written with a European perspective, so the environmental conditions and bulb varieties may be difficult to match in the US.
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