Best Spring Flower Bulbs for Natural Gardens

Spring is the time when flowers first begin to appear in your yard and gardens. To make the most of the early warmth, spring flower bulbs are a great choice. If your goal is a natural looking garden with drifts of color and texture, the following spring flower bulbs are right for you.

Daffodils and Narcissus

Daffodils, narcissus, and jonquils are all in the same family of spring bulbs. They or one of the best bulbs for naturalizing, or spreading year after year. All jonquil varieties have long, slender leaves that surround the central flower stem.

These flowers come in a wide range of colors and styles. While most daffodils have a single flower on each stem, there are some that have multiple, smaller blossoms clustered on the stem. The classic shape of the flower is a deep cup with petals surrounding it, but they also come with small cups, double petals, and ruffled petals instead of a defined cup. For sheer beauty and variety, the daffodils are hard to beat.

Tulips

Since first being introduced, tulips have risen in popularity as the ultimate in spring flower bulbs. They come in many sizes, varieties, and colors. Tulips have broad leaves and a slender stem that supports the cup-shaped flower. Some tulip bulbs grow double or ruffled flowers, or the exotic-looking parrot tulips, which have fringe at the petal edges.

Hyacinths, Grape Hyacinths, and Wood Hyacinths

These three spring flower bulbs are not as closely related as they sound. The first, the hyacinth, is the large, showy bulb that gets a fat cylinder of waxy, trumpet-shaped blossoms. They are well known for their strong scent.

Grape hyacinths, or muscari, have smaller blue flowers on thin stalks. Their grass-like leaves provide interest in the garden and they spread easily.

Wood hyacinths are also called hyacinthoids and also have spiky leaves that grow in a clump. They come in blue, pink, and white and have loose clusters of trumpet-shaped flowers. They do very well in shade.

Crocus