Spring Bulbs

Spring has unofficially begun at the Lenkin Garden! Thanks to the sunny weather here in California we are very fortunate to get an early start to the flowering bulbs.

Spring-blooming bulbs are relatively permanent and are a great way to mark the start of spring in any landscape. There are several types of bulbs – true bulbs, corms, tubers, tuberous roots, and rhizomes. True bulbs are enlarged and modified bulbs which include daffodils, lilies, hyacinths, Glory-of the-Snow, and tulips. Corms are modified solid stems swollen with food storage tissues, and include crocus and Dogtooth Violet. Tubers have an underground food storing stem that bears one or more buds on the upper surface and includes cyclamen, Grecian Windflowers, and Winter Aconite. Sweet potato, cassava, yam, and dahlia fall into the category of tuberous roots— which are modified lateral roots. Rhizomes have a horizontal stem system usually found underground which include some species of iris.

Bulbs do best in well-drained soil and most prefer full sun areas. An ideal location for bulbs is next to south-facing planting beds since they do require protection from north and west winds. When planting a bulb, a good rule of thumb is to the measure the diameter of the bulb and multiply this figure by two to find the planting depth.

Here are some of the recent spring bulbs that have bloomed here at the Lenkin garden. Enjoy!

Leucojum vernum– Spring Snowflake