Bulbous plants can be difficult to incorporate into a garden. They are often small and delicate. Many are ephemeral, disappearing in a couple months and looking mighty shabby for those last few weeks. On top of that, the bloom can be notoriously quick.
This works well in rock gardens and meadows that mimic natural areas, but can be frustrating in a home garden setting or public landscape. The list below includes reliable bulbs that deliver a colorful display to homes, school yards, golf courses, and parks throughout America.
All plants are Chicago winter hardy (zone 5) except Dahlia (zone 8).
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Plant |
Attribute |
Hardiness |
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Flowering Onion (Alliium) |
Bright umbels of flowers suspended in air. Colors include yellow, purple, and white. Ranges in size from 6" A. moly to 48" A. 'Mt. Everest'. 'Globemaster' is packed with hundreds of flowers. Wildlife resistant. |
Mild to cold winters. Temperate climates |
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Windflower (Anemone) |
Bright, colorful buttercups with decorative, fern-like foliage. Anemones have a bewildering array of colors, sizes, and bloomtimes. Most tuberous types are spring blooming, ephemeral groundcovers. |
Mild to cold winters. Temperate climates |
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Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arisaema) |
Woodland aroid with interesting spathe and spadix flower structure folowed by red berries in late summer. Mary species have unusual pedate foliage. Great cutflowers when combined with hellebores or jonquils. Wildlife resistant. |
Mild to cold winters. Temperate climates |
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Dahlia (Dahlia) |
Bright, colorful, double flowers all throughout summer and fall. Not cold winter hardy. After hard frost, dig and store tubers. |
Mild winters. Temperate climates |
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Fox-tail Lily (Eremurus) |
Towering spikes of bright flowers. Large yucca like leaves disappear by late June. Some fox-tail lilies reach over 8'. Protect from winds. |
Mild to cold winters. Temperate climates. |
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Snowdrop (Galanthus) |
Earliest bulb to bloom. Milk white flower dangles from a six inch stalk in late winter. Incredibly resilient, often suffering snow and frigid temps only to rebound. Best in large patches. Wildlife resistant. |
Mild to cold winters. Temperate climates. |
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Bluebells (Hyacinthoides)
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Violet blue flowers hanging from crowded stalks. Best in large patches. Wildlife resistant. |
Mild to cold winters. Temperate climates. |
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Snowflake (Leucojum) |
Large, later blooming version of the snowdrop. Summer snowflake (L. aestivum) actually blooms in spring and is the most vigorous and floriferous species. Wildlife resistant. |
Mild to cold winters. Temperate climates. |
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Lily (Lilium) |
Magnificent colorful flowers atop leafy stems. Long lasting cutflowers. Bloom season stretches from late spring with the maragon lily into early fall with the formosa lily. A wildlife favorite. |
Mild to cold winters. Temperate climates. |
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Daffodil (Narcissus) |
Bright yellow flowers that signal spring time. Perhaps the most wildly grown flower in the world. Wildlife resistant. |
Mild to cold winters. Temperate climates |
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Squill (Scilla) |
Floriferous early blooming ground cover. Siberian squill aggressively spreads in open woodlands to form a blue carpet in early April. |
Mild to cold winters. Temperate climates. |
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Tulip (Tulipa) |
Birght flowers in a vast array of colors, sizes, and bloom times. Species tulips are typically smaller but better natuarlizers than the cultivars. A wildlife favorite. |
Mild to cold winters. Temperate climates. |
