How to Plant a Bulb Container Garden

Bulbs gardens are known for their bright, bold blooms, variety of colors and foliage and fragrance, but having a bulb garden of your own is not always possible. One of the most tedious parts of growing bulbs in the garden is having to dig up the bulbs at the end of the season, store them indoors over winter, and then replant them outside again in the spring. Planting a bulb container garden lets you avoid all that extra work and still enjoy the beauty of your favorite bulbs.

Bulb container gardens are also a great solution for those who do not have a yard to plant a traditional garden in. Each garden is portable and can be moved around to create an attractive display, as well as moved indoors during the winter months.

The following guide provides tips for choosing bulbs to include in your containers, how to plant the bulb container garden, design ideas, and tips for care.

Bulbs to Use
While you can use any bulb that you would plant in a traditional garden in a suitable container, there are some bulbs that do very well in containers. Daffodils and tulips are two taller plants that can be used as the centerpiece plants in a mixed bulb container garden or planted alone for a striking display.

Hyacinths and Freesias are two types of bulbs that grow about 8-10 inches in height. Both have very compact foliage and tall, lengthwise blooms that are very fragrant.

Shorter bulbs that look great around the edge of a mixed container garden are Grape Hyacinths and Crocuses. Both of these flowers stay under six inches and produce a large color variety of blooms.

Planting Your Bulb Container Garden
Choose a container based on the type of bulb garden you want to grow, several bulbs of the same type or a mixed bulb garden. Mixed bulb gardens look best in large containers of any shape, with a minimum depth of eight inches. When you are using only one type of bulb, several plants look best in containers with a smaller diameter where they have more impact.