Plucky Little Bulbs Pop Up to Herald Spring’s Arrival

After what seems like the longest, coldest--and driest--winter I can remember, I’m being rewarded with bulbs aplenty.

April may be known as the month when spring arrives and roses bloom, but March is the month for bulbs and bulblike plants, at least those that got planted back in the fall.

There are near-blue babianas blooming by my front gate with pink watsonias right behind, lavender tulips in pots lined up on the rim of the lily pond, yellow narcissus, strictly ornamental alliums, iris and new flavors of sparaxis, plus orange and yellow homerias.

Where do I find room for all these bulbs in an already heavily planted urban garden? That’s the trick.

It’s not like finding room for another sofa in the living room; more like finding space for a magazine rack or an umbrella stand. Bulbs grow straight up, and take little space. Those in my garden are also small.

The show they make isn’t like the tulip display at Descanso Gardens in La Canada. They have nowhere near that impact.

But that doesn’t matter in March, when there is little competition. If some of these same bulbs were to bloom in April or May, they’d hardly get noticed, but in March they’ve got the stage nearly to themselves.

Along the path leading to the front door bloom purple-blue babianas. And to the other side of the rusted, antique gate is one of the decorative, bulb-grown oxalis, only this one has deep maroon leaves that look great next to the gate.

Tucked into an odd corner between front path and sidewalk are soft yellow sparaxis, a new, solid-colored variety named ‘Lady Buttercup.’ This same bed will be filled with perennial flowers in April, but right now all you notice are the smallish bulbs enjoying spring to themselves.

There’s another new sparaxis in back named ‘Purple Majesty,’ this one a deep, royal purple. It is tucked into a cranny between a decorative granite boulder and the back path, right next to a big clump of a deep, velvety purple native iris named ‘Pescadero.’

Paths are of great benefit when you are looking for spots for bulbs. There are always places just beside the path for the smaller kinds. If you leave two-inch gaps between the paving stones, you can even plant in the path.

Each spring I have to step over small clumps of dwarf daffodils, babianas, sparaxis and white-flowered oxalis that come up in these cracks.

Some bulbs and bulblike plants are surprisingly punctual, so much so that I can use them as a kind of floral calendar.

There is one native iris, an older creamy variety named ‘Chimes,’ that brightens our back path. Each year it opens its first blooms about two days before my wife’s birthday, to remind me of that blessed event.

Not all bulbs bloom in March, but enough do to give spring an early start.

If you too have found nooks and crannies for spring’s little bulbs, remember that most are permanent plants and their leaves shouldn’t be cut off after they flower. Wait until the leaves wither.

I received an e-mail asking me why, after I mentioned this in the “Things to Do This Week” listing. The answer is that the bulbs need to grow as long as possible so they can build up strength for next year’s bloom, which, as I mentioned, will arrive like the 7:05.

In the Garden is published Thursdays. Write to Robert Smaus, SoCal Living, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053; fax to (213) 237-4712; or e-mail to robert.smaus@latimes.com.