Bulbs in lawns
James Waddick (Thu, 02 Sep 2004 06:36:54 PDT)

Dear All;
I have three "bulb lawns".
We started with a gently sloping s-w facing area with
Reticulata iris, these did great until the retics dwindled. Now
others do better in more shade. Next came Crocus, but these were
removed by the tree rats* These have gradually been replaced by a
combination of Anemone blanda (mostly 'White Splendor') and
Chinodoxa. These do great. No mowing until foliage dies back. Not too
long or unsightly.

In a more westerly and more sloping site there's about 800
mixed(but named) daffodils. These do great and have multiplied well.
They keep foliage for an awfully long time, but the area is not
visible from the street and we just wait til foliage yellows to mow.
This used to be in Crocus, but the tree rats ate almost every one.
Now the remainder seem to flourish in between the daffodils. I think
the daffs repel the 'taste sampling' of the tree rats. We have added
some more- mostly C. sieberi 'Firefly' and 'Tricolor'.

Along a fifty foot or so concrete walkway we have both sides
lined with Crocus tomasinianus, but the tree rats have made this very
sparse.

This all seems to point out that most of these bulbs do fine
in grass, but natural barriers: tree rats, climate extremes have
forced alternate and successful plantings.

Last year we under-planted a lightly shaded area with 'blue
shades' of Anemone blanda and loved the color mix. Need another 500
or so bulbs.

I'd give high praise to a bulb lawn if you don't mind more -
or less- grassy mess (and a few weeds, but not excessive).

Best Jim W.

* tree rats are also known as grey squirrels, but this is too kind
and avoids calling a rat a rat!
--
Dr. James W. Waddick
8871 NW Brostrom Rd.
Kansas City Missouri 64152-2711
USA
Ph. 816-746-1949
E-fax 419-781-8594

Zone 5 Record low -23F
Summer 100F +