Kathleen asked about ground covers that will coexist with bulbs but not provide a haven for weeds and slugs. I can't answer for the slug problem, but my larger rock garden has some mats of thyme (Thymus spp.) through which bulbs of various kinds emerge and flower successfully, and in which weeds rarely germinate. Thyme would not, however, outcompete weeds that spread underground. I also have a patch of Fuchsia procumbens (which might be a thug in Kathleen's coastal site) hosting a colony of the modest-sized lily Lilium davidii. Other bulbs here are growing in a lawn, which is getting its first mow of the year today, now that the bulb foliage is sufficiently senescent. It is a weedy lawn because of the need to let the bulbs grow, but at least it's flat and green. Other bulbs are coexisting with prostrate, semishrubby penstemons, Scutellaria spp., and a small but all too vigorous Epimedium. You can also put spring-flowering bulbs near hostas and Pulsatilla vulgaris forms, which later fill in the space with their large leaves. All these combinations except the thyme assume that the bulbs are tolerant of some summer moisture. For those that are not, I'll be installing a raised, rock supported bed this summer to host dryland bulbs and small xeric perennials such as Arenaria and Draba. I already have such a combination on a tufa rock garden. Some growers succeed with the combination of spring bulbs and summer annuals, though I haven't tried this much. If you want the annuals to reseed, you will be faced with weeding out the cress and Epilobium among the tiny annual seedlings, while avoiding the growing bulbs, which would be a real pain. Jane McGary Portland, Oregon, USA