Hello all : Here comes my recommendation for planting bulbs in borders : I have found on my travels ( on the mediterranean country) the following situation for habits of bulbplants - I saw often Peonys growing and on her feets grows Anemone ,Crocus , Galanthus, Eranthis.... and so I have imitate this situation on my garden and this works well,the peonys and also Helleborus gives shadow on the summer and after cutting in fall cames the Crocus , Galanthus and the other plants . With best wishes from South - West -Germany Hans -----Ursprungliche Nachricht----- Von: pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org [mailto:pbs-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org]Im Auftrag von Rodger Whitlock Gesendet: Montag, 16. August 2004 16:31 An: pbs@lists.ibiblio.org Betreff: Re: [pbs] Re: What follows bulbs On 14 Aug 04 at 15:33, Jane McGary wrote: > What plants -- ornamental or edible -- do others sow over their bulb > beds? At the 1991 Western Winter Study weekend, Don Elick recommended that bulbs not be overplanted with *anything*. In his opinion, over- planting had two drawbacks: one, it shaded the soil, thus preventing the bulbs from getting the warmth they need in summer to properly ripen; and, two, no matter what you planted, it would compete with the bulbs for nutrients, thereby weakening them. The context was his experience with bulbs in Japan's cold, dry winters and hot, wet summers. To this day I remain uncertain if this is generally applicable advice, or advice applicable only to similar climates. But as he is (was?) a very successful grower of Mediterranean bulbs in a climate not especially suited to them, I think his opinion is worth consideration. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate on beautiful Vancouver Island _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.ibiblio.org http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/list.php