Bulbs and Annuals in the Same Space

When I slipped those little seedlings of yellow Profusion zinnias along the front of the flower border, I knew there were also bulbs there.

Lots of them. In the spring, reticulated irises come up in that space, along with a smattering of spring crocuses. There are even some Ipheion, spring star flowers squeezed in there.

And in the fall, as you can see from this latest picture, autumn crocuses send up their flowers.

But in late spring and summer and early fall, which is a long time in a garden, the edge of that bed is pretty bare.

So I decided to plant some yellow Profusion zinnias I started from seeds there. When I slipped those seedlings into the ground, they were still fairly small so I didn’t have to dig too deep to plant them.

Which is good because all those bulbs are in the ground there.

But now that the autumn crocuses are blooming, maybe its time for those zinnias to go?

But they still look pretty good.

But they are hiding the autumn crocuses.

I don’t like to pull annuals until they are well past their prime.

I want to see the autumn crocuses better.

But the yellow and purple look good together.

And so it goes. That inner dialogue that every gardener has when bulbs and annuals are growing together.