Today we’re headed to Westerville, Ohio, to see a beautiful display created by Marlene Suter. When she emailed in these photos, she introduced them by saying simply, “I love spring bulbs, and plant about 2,000 each year in my gardens.” Two thousand each year! That’s pretty incredible—and a LOT of work putting all of those bulbs in the ground each year. But as you’ll see, the results are worth it.
‘Pride Mix’ is made up of several colors of Darwin hybrid tulips (Tulipa hybrid, Zones 3–8), which is the group that tends to be the best at perennializing.
This bed includes ‘Crimson Queen’ Japanese maple (Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’, Zone 5–9), ‘Carnival’ hedge maple (Acer campestre ‘Carnival’, Zones 4–8), pink ‘Ollioules’ tulips (Tulipa ‘Ollioules’, Zones 3–8), and white ‘Thalia’ daffodils (Narcissus ‘Thalia’, Zones 3–8). I love the way the colors in the bed in the foreground are repeated in the beds behind it, drawing the eye into the garden and unifying the whole garden.
The bridge leads to beds with several Japanese maples and groups of daffodils.
The beds along the front walk are edged with ‘Sherwood Purple’ phlox (Phlox stolonifera ‘Sherwood Purple’, Zones 3–8) and clouds of blue forget-me-nots (Myosotis sylvatica, Zones 3–8; often performs as a biennial or cool season annual), with white and yellow daffodils glowing behind them.
In the front beds, groups of 10 to 12 tulips and daffodils are scattered among perennials and shrubs. I love the way the clumps of flowering bulbs create points of color in the midst of the other plants.
Glowing ‘Spryng’ tulips, ‘Golden Echo’ daffodils, and Magic Carpet spirea (Spirea japonica ‘Walbuma’, Zones 3–8) with new orange foliage.
Woodland path with bluebells (Mertensia virginica, Zones 3–9), ferns, Epimedium, and spring bulbs.
Front of the woodland garden
‘Camargue’ and ‘Elegant Lady’ tulips, bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis, Zones 2–8), and fothergilla (Fothergilla gardenii, Zones 5–8)
‘Queen of the Night’ tulips, and lancifolia hosta (Hosta lancifolia, Zones 3–8)
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Comments
Sooo gorgeous! Something to aspire to. Thank you very much for sharing!
It's lovely to see how the bulbs really enliven the mature garden beds. I wonder if Marlene might tell us which varieties of tulips that have done the best job of perennializing, given how many bulbs she plants annually.
Beautiful & inspiring...now I want tulips! Thanks for sharing!
Oh, my, how very lovely!
What an outstanding spring display! I'm amazed at the amount of bulbs you plant each year and envy the energy you have to get them all in the ground. I especially loved the garden in front of your house. Thank you for sharing all of these lovely photos.
What a lovely cheerful display. 2000 bulbs, that’s a lot. You must have a lot of ground
Your garden brings on spring with a super display of flowering bulbs, one of the best I've seen yet.
The woodland surrounding it and the stone path through the plantings, the arbor...wow...you did a fabulous job on your garden.
I also love your choice of using ‘Sherwood Purple’ phlox, they are such a nice color and natural woodland looking type of plant that can fill in around bulbs, a favorite of mine.
It was a joy entering your garden! Thank you for sharing your love of creating beauty and inviting all of us to enjoy a walk among the tulips.
A-MAZ-ING
Lovely and welcoming entry garden. I also like the color combination of the tulips and the bleeding heart. Lovely garden!
A fantasy of spring! What a delight! Your garden beds charm the heart just at the right time of year! Thank you for taking the time to share your beauty with us all!
Marlene, Thank you for your beautiful garden. You must have vases throughout your house too! Hope your garden club gets a tour each year!
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