Photography by Michelle Slatalla except where noted.
In Chicago, where I grew up, tulips were pretty much the only thing that kept us going through the winter.
You can survive snow, and you can survive ice, and you can even survive the razor winds that blow in from the lake to rub your face raw, if you know that one day you will look out a window and see a clump of tulips, their swan necks improbably supporting the weight of their fat flowers.
Photograph by John Merkl for Gardenista.
Go outdoors and take stock of your garden’s microclimate: where are the sunny spots and well-drained soil?
Know Your Microclimate
Photograph by Britt Willoughby Dyer.
For more of this garden, see Garden Visit: The Tulips of Hawthorn Cottage.
Buy 5, 7, 9, or 11
Start Small
Photograph by Meredith Swinehart.
Here are some Foolproof Spring Bulbs for a Beginner. The first year you plant bulbs, fill a few holes in the garden rather than trying to make the whole garden look like a field in Holland.
Photograph by Scott Patrick Myers.
Plant bulbs in narrow, curving clusters that run parallel to the fence.
Use a Fence as Backdrop
The bulbs will be in your line of vision when they bloom, and after they go over, other plants behind and in front will hide the yellow foliage.”
Your Height May Vary
For more of this garden, see Garden Visit: The Tulips of Hawthorn Cottage.
Photograph by Britt Willoughby Dyer.
“It looks less garden-y than if you try to put all the tall ones in the back and all the short ones in the front.”
For more, see Gardening 101: How to Plant a Spring Bulb.
Don’t Let Them Touch
Photograph by John Merkl for Gardenista.
“They look more naturalistic if you plant them close together,” says Kunst.
Buy Older Varieties of Tulips
In most parts of the US, tulips will not reappear as reliably as other bulbs year after year; older varieties of tulips will return more reliably than new ones.
Photograph by Scott Patrick Myers.
“If you plant them in a spot that’s going to be watered regularly over the summer, dig them up and store them until fall.”
Add Companion Plants
Companion planting in British gardening maven Sarah Raven’s garden.
Photograph by John Merkl for Gardenista.
To make room to plant bulbs, pull out or trim back existing plantings.
Make Room
“If you’re not willing to throw things away–or give them away–then you eventually are going to be overwhelmed by all that stuff that keeps burgeoning in the garden.”
See our posts Squirrel-Proof Crocus and 5 Quick Fixes: The Rarified Daffodil.
Draw a Plan…Or Not