bulbs?

hi all i am a little confused(nothing new there!) as you know i am new to all this gardening business anyway i have a few questions,
do bulbs planted now come up year after year in the spring?
after flowering has finished do i cut back to ground level?
also can i sow annual seeds on top after they are finished?
just wondering whats the best way to get a nice display from spring through until autumn?

 

Most Spring bulbs will come up every year thereafter. Tulips maybe not so reliable, especially the big hybrids, species are ok.
No, do not under any circumstances cut off the foliage after flowering. You may remove the flowering stems to stop them from wasting energy on seed production, but the bulbs need the food produced by the leaves to build up strength for flowering the next time.
Yes, most of our bulbs are covered by other plants growing over the top of them. They do not mind in the least. In fact the plants help by removing excess moisture from the soil so the bulbs can have a nice dryish resting period.

 

so i just leave them to die back naturally then? thankyou so much think i may have a go with some bulbs in one of the beds then

 

Which ones do you fancy? Even supermarkets have little boxes of bulbs available and should be easy to source

 

you can hide the spent bulbs with hosta that will come up and grow around them, or other plants with a leafy attitude. some folks like to bend them down and simple tie to tidy them up with done. remember to dead head the spent flowers on the bulb, as they pull energy from the bulb, the green is best left on as it helps the bulb for the next year.
If you want more bulbs in the future, chose those that say, naturalizes easy. And plant with a decent space between or in about 6 years you will have to dig up and split them.
Enjoy my gardens at Estherredstar, see all my 60,000 bulbs.

 

and if you do a search here on this forum you will run across other bulb discussions.

 

thanks guys just thought i would go for a mix of bulbs see what happens

 

oh redstar, i just had a peep looks wonderful!

 

"M" ive just ordered a couple of packs they include 17 hyacinths,30 muscari, 26 anenome, 12 iris, 9 tulip and 4 daffodils

 

Oooh, nice selection there, @maria

Plant your hyacinths the recommended depth - my experience is: they can flop over, which makes them look a drunken hen party after hours
Lurve muscari!
Anemone: didn't flower my first year, but did indeed the 2nd. So, if they are a no-show, don't give up on them
I haven't been too successful with iris so no comment other than I hope you have success

I'm planting: crocus, muscari, snakes head fritillary, dwarf daffs (tete a tete) and some snowdrops (which probably won't flower as they are better planted "in the green" but didn't mind taking a chance). All mine are going into tubs this year - until I get the garden backbone done and then it's every seed/bulb for itself

 

just a question AGAIN lol anyway thing is i have clay soil in that bed and have read although its full of nutrients maybe not too good for bulbs? should i add something whilst digging it over? or shall i just take a chance?

 

oh and no idea how many bulbs i will need for the space? if i measure the bed tomorrow can someone advise me if i need more? thanks in advance

 

oh and how do i tag someone?

 

I've just left a heavy clay garden - bulbs did just fine! Chance it

Absolutely

You put the symbol "@" then you type the user name of the person you wish to tag = @maria the software even permits you to put one space between the @ and the user name and it will still tag

 

if you want you can remove some of the clay and replace it with top soil, then mix in clay below it with the top soil. I don't like to chance it when it comes to plants/bulbs. Bottom line, they cost money, its my time spent, and I do want results in the spring.