Few things signal the changing seasons quite like the cheerful arrival of spring flowering bulbs. After months of cooler days, these colourful blooms bring fresh life, fragrance and beauty back into the garden.
6 spring flowering bulbs to enjoy
Daffodils bring sunny yellow trumpets, while jonquils and freesias fill the air with sweet perfume. Hyacinths offer colourful, fragrant flower spikes, ranunculus provide layers of jewel-like petals, and tulips add their elegant, classic beauty.
Together, these six spring flowering bulbs create a beautiful seasonal display, whether planted in garden beds or containers and can add colour and fragrance to garden beds, borders and containers.
How to display spring flowering bulbs
Bulbs are best displayed where you can enjoy their colour and fragrance up close. Mass them throughout garden beds, tuck them into cottage-style borders or plant them in pots near entertaining areas, pathways and doorways.
Grouping several bulbs of the same variety together generally creates a stronger display than planting individual bulbs throughout the garden.
If you missed planting bulbs earlier in the season, don’t worry. Many garden centres offer pots of bulbs that are already flowering, allowing you to bring instant spring colour home without waiting for dormant bulbs to emerge.
Can flowering bulbs be replanted next year?
In cooler parts of Australia, including Tasmania, Victoria, southern New South Wales and elevated areas along the east coast, many potted bulbs can be saved for another season.
After flowering, remove the spent flowers but allow the foliage to yellow and die back naturally. Continue watering while the leaves remain green, as they’re helping the bulb store energy for next year’s display.
Once the foliage has completely died back, suitable bulbs can be left in well-drained garden soil or lifted and stored, depending on the variety. If lifting them, gently remove loose soil, discard any damaged or diseased bulbs and allow the healthy bulbs to dry before storing them in a cool, dry and well-ventilated place.
In warmer regions such as South East Queensland, cold-climate bulbs like tulips and hyacinths are often best treated as annuals because they may not receive enough winter chill to flower reliably again. More adaptable varieties, including some jonquils and freesias, may return with the right care.
Whether your spring flowering bulbs bloom for one season or return for several years, they’re an easy way to celebrate the arrival of warmer days.
Bulbs aren’t the only way to brighten your garden this season. Discover what to plant in spring with our list of five easy vegetables and five colourful flowers for families to grow together.
