Bringing the outside in has long been the gardener’s solution to less time spent outside over the winter months. Adding bowls and baskets of spring flowers to tabletops and windowsills is an easy way to fill a room with scent and color. And while pots of paperwhites (the heavily-scented white narcissi) and amaryllis have become mainstays during the holidays, a miniature indoor garden of other spring-flowering bulbs can provide a longer display to take you through the dark days of winter. Almost any spring bulbs will do, but know that forced or prepared bulbs are specially treated to a period of cold before you buy them to encourage earlier-than-normal flowering.
In her Complete Floristry Masterclass for Create Academy, British florist Willow Crossley shares her own take on the potted garden, combining amaryllis and hyacinths in a large splatterware bowl topped with moss and lichen-covered branches. Below, we break down how to create your own version at home.
Photography courtesy of Create Academy.
1. Choose the right container.
The vessel is a key consideration. Single bulbs can be very effective in small pots, but to create an indoor garden, opt for large bowls, antique tureens and jardineres, or wicker bowls and baskets with a liner—all work well. Because the bowls are often a centerpiece and on display for a long period, it’s worth seeking out the most beautiful vessels. Blue and white china is a stunning backdrop for blue flowers including muscari; antique copper vessels look great with white or yellow flowers like miniature narcissi or leucojums. At Burford Garden Centre in the Cotswolds, bulb gardens are planted into hollowed-out chunks of wood and topped with moss and pine cones, like a woodland floor in miniature.
2. Fill it with gravel (soil is optional).
Fill the bottom of your vessel with gravel or grit for drainage (bulbs do not want to sit in any amount of water). Bulbs do not need compost; they already have the nutrients they need to flower so you can add bulbs directly on top of the grit, or add a layer of compost if you prefer. Potted bulbs that are already planted into soil can be slotted into the vessel straight into the gravel layer. If necessary, gently tease bulbs and their roots apart to add to the display. It’s worth spending some time here to think about the way the bowl looks from each side, imagining the whole when it’s in flower.
3. Top it with moss, twigs, cones, etc.
Once you are happy with the positioning of each bulb, top all the gaps with clumps of moss, which can be raked up from the lawn. Ensure that all the bulbs roots are tucked inside and that no soil is visible. Then dress with cones, twigs, lichen and small branches. Gnarly twigs of larch or magnolia work well but birch can also be very beautiful, especially if it has some dangling catkins. A cage of branches will help to support flowers as they grow and become top heavy.
Note: If you create multiple pots at once, you can control flowering times simply by moving them around. Relocating the arrangement to somewhere cool and dark (be mindful of any tender bulbs such as some Narcissi) will delay flowering; they will slow down or stop growing altogether. In the warmth and light of a house, they will rapidly begin to grow and flower. Once inside, the bowl should be carefully watered, ensuring that the bulbs are not sitting in any water. After flowering, re-plant any hardy bulbs (including muscari and hyacinths) in your outdoor garden, leaving the foliage on the bulb to die back naturally, as they will reflower next year.
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