11 top spring flowering bulbs for zingy colour in your low maintenance garden

^{Outrageously jolly, tulips are one of my top spring flowering bulbs. Just one pack of tulip bulbs planted in a pot will brighten your garden in spring.}

Gardening is a pastime that teaches you a lot. And one of the great things about bulb planting is that, like seed sowing, it offers hope.

From these dry, papery bulbs you push into cold, soggy soil in the rapidly cooling and darkening days before winter, you’ll get beautiful blooms eagerly thrusting their way towards the sun in spring.

The light will return, folks. You need to believe that. We all do.

I’ll list my top spring flowering bulbs roughly in order of flowering, from earliest in the year to latest. So, snowdrops will be the earliest spring bulbs to flower, and alliums will be the latest.

If you’re very short of space in your garden, I’d prioritise earlier flowering bulbs. By late spring there’ll be loads of gorgeous foliage to look at everywhere, but the lift to your spirits of an icy puddle of snowdrops in January is immense.

If you’re looking for the best spring flowering bulbs for growing in pots, then everything in this list will be suitable, except for the very tallest alliums.

1. Snowdrop (Galanthus)

^{Planted in semi shade, snowdrops will thrill you in midwinter as the fragile looking, but surprisingly sturdy, flowers emerge from iron hard soil.}

Starting to flower in mild years from December onwards, there’s nothing quite like the dainty, glistening white of snowdrops to cheer you on through the darkest days of the year.

Gorgeous grown in containers, they will do even better in the ground, as they’ll gradually increase in number, known as naturalising. So in future years, you’ll have even more glittering, nodding heads to enjoy. Happiest in semi-shade.

2. Crocus

^{Sunshine crocus in a terracotta pot will add a warm touch to your chilly spring garden.}

Offering cheerful splashes of colour in early spring, tiny crocus are invaluable in a small garden. You can choose from icy white, golden yellow, soft lilac or regal purple. They’ll be a feast for early pollinators as well as your eyes, and will appreciate some sun.

Happy to grow in containers like snowdrops, you could even have a pot of each—silver snowdrops and creamy crocus.

3. Chionodoxa

^{Hungry pollinators emerging from hibernation will be delighted to find some delicate chionodoxa among your spring flowering bulbs.}

Graceful, starry chionodoxa deserve to be better known. They’re almost indestructible and can put up with serious neglect as long as they have some sun. Growing chionodoxa with snowdrops and crocus is an exercise about quiet beauty in miniature. Chionodoxa come in soft pink or white, with the blue varieties a little more saturated. Another pollinator friendly top spring flowering bulb.

4. Dwarf iris (Iris reticulata)

^{Planning ahead and planting dwarf iris in the autumn will delight you with a pot of joyous flowers in spring.}

It’s hard to beat the elegance of a bowl of dwarf iris blooming on frigid days. The rich colour coupled with their graceful form will raise a smile as you gaze through rain-soaked windows. They’ll love a sunny spot in your garden—ideally on a table so you can see them better.

5. Muscari

^{The indigo spires of muscari are one of the top spring flowering bulbs for weeks of colour in your low maintenance garden.}

Thrusting their way through cold soil, the vivid cobalt blue and rich purple of muscari will delight you and any nearby bees. These spring superstars keep flowering for weeks, slowly opening up until they’re fully blooming. Another top spring flowering bulb that will happily naturalise in sun or part-shade with absolutely zero effort from you.

6. Daffodil (Narcissus)

^{Glorious, glowing daffodils will fill your garden with sunshine even on the greyest spring days. Always a top spring flowering bulb.}

I should come clean here: I’m not a huge fan of yellow flowers. But. Given the choice of an apparently empty flower bed full of hibernating hardy perennials, and a blaze of buttery gold lighting up the garden, I know which I’d choose.

Lots of daffodils contentedly naturalise, so if you plant some this autumn, they’ll multiply underground giving you even bigger, jollier displays—what more could you ask for? Super undemanding to grow in sun or part-shade.

7. Puschkinia

Along with chionodoxa, this is a sadly overlooked spring flowering bulb. Pretty white flowers, gracefully etched with pale blue offer dainty loveliness. Pollinator friendly, fragrant and naturalising, these bulbs work hard for the few pennies they cost per bulb. Fine in sun or part-shade.

8. Hyacinth

Not for the faint-hearted, hyacinth still deserves a mention. You tend to fall into one of two camps: people who love the powerful scent and those who loathe it. But for those who adore it, hyacinth is a valuable addition to your collection of top spring flowering bulbs. Go for rich jewel tones of magenta, violet or carmine-red for a bold and unapologetic display.

9. Tulip

^{The silken petals of these luxurious tulips will add a bold splash of colour to your spring garden.}

I often encourage people to plant what they love, regardless of what might seem like ‘sensible’ choices. And I follow this advice myself. Tulips are one of my outright favourite flowers, despite not being especially low maintenance or pollinator friendly. But love them I do.

The glamour of their silken skirts sashaying across your spring garden is sublime. And there are hundreds of different varieties of tulips to satisfy the pickiest of gardeners. You could try a jolly dolly mixture effect with pastels. Or strike a pose with vibrant mango coupled with inky aubergine. A group of mismatched pots all planted with the same colour of tulips can look spectacular.

Go on—you know you want to really. Just one pack of 10 bulbs planted in a pot will inject some much needed drama into those gloomy spring days. Tulips do love a sunny spot to perform at their best.

^{Make a statement in your garden with top spring flowering tulip bulbs in different colours and shapes.}

10. Bluebell (Scilla)

^{Often mentioned in British folklore and fairytales, graceful bluebells have a unique and enchanting beauty.}

A sublime native British spring flowering bulb, famous for smoky drifts through softly burgeoning woodlands in May. It’s probably best only to plant bluebells if you have plenty of space, because they do multiply rapidly underground. Beloved by bees and ladybirds, bluebells are deliciously fragrant and will love dappled shade in your garden.

11. Allium

^{Glistening white petals of allium cowanii—a top spring flowering bulb.}

Probably the last spring bulb to flower in your garden, alliums are tremendously valuable for providing height and structure. You can choose from dainty, drooping varieties to massive architectural ones, and even some with fiercely spiky looking flowers. They love a sunny spot, and the taller ones will thank you for a sheltered space to thrive.

^{Vivid violet globes of allium ‘Purple Sensation’ will feed a multitude of bees.}

When should you plant spring flowering bulbs?

Lots of advice says you should plant most spring flowering bulbs in September or October. But, honestly, I’ve never managed to do that in all my years of gardening. I generally squelch around in absolutely foul weather in December, having realised I really can’t delay planting any longer—and my bulbs have always thrived.

So, the best time to plant your spring flowering bulbs is between September and December. Tulips prefer to be planted after the cold weather starts, ideally after a couple of frosts. This helps protect them against tulip blight, which is a fungal disease affecting flowering.

Your bulb pack will have suggested planting depths and spacings on it. Again, these are guidelines, so don’t feel you need to get out a ruler. I’ve often tumbled lots into a pot or flower bed with scant regard for planting depth or distance, and they’ve been fine.

Bulbs do like good drainage, especially ones originally from warmer countries like crocus, tulips and alliums. If your borders are heavy clay, digging in some horticultural grit will help. Strewing some through your compost would be great if you’re planting in containers.

What bulbs flower first in spring?

Snowdrops are usually the first bulbs to flower in the UK, with some varieties even showing their glittering heads in December. You can find many different types of snowdrops, so if you love them, you could try to find ones that’ll give you a succession of flowers all through the winter.

Crocus, dwarf iris, and some daffodils will start to flower from February, but that very much depends on where you live. For me in Scotland they’ll be much later than if you live in Kent.

What are the most popular spring bulbs?

^{Fragrant, tough, and with many flowers on a stem, narcissus ‘Geranium’ is a top spring flowering bulb.}

I’d say the most popular spring bulbs to plant in the UK are probably daffodils. Happy in sun or shade, not too fussy about soil drainage, and merrily returning year after year, it’s easy to see why. For just a few pounds, you can enjoy pools of golden light in your garden, and even cut some to bring indoors.

What bulbs to plant for spring flowers?

If you’re new to gardening—welcome! It’s not nearly as difficult as you might think. Starting with low maintenance plants is great; you can build your confidence and won’t feel like a slave to your garden’s demands.

Daffodils and muscari would be my top choices of bulbs for spring flowers, if I had to pick just two. They’re both very easy going, great value for money, and not bothered at all if you’re a bit slapdash at planting time. You can plant either of them in the ground or in pots in the autumn, and they’ll give you weeks of colour from March onwards.

If you prefer softer colours, I’d choose chionodoxa for delicate, pastel flowers. They’re bee friendly, and excellent value for money.

What are the best spring bulbs for cut flowers?

Daffodils are the best early spring bulbs for cut flowers, followed by tulips a little later. Most daffodils have long, sturdy stems which look great crammed into big glass jars. You can find fragrant varieties too, which will bring the scent of spring into your home.

Tulips can be picked in bunches, but are also striking when displayed singly. One fabulous bloom popped into a glass bottle will continue growing and opening over several days, especially if kept in a cool room and out of the sun. Tulips look stunning even when they’re fading—their colours take on antique tapestry hues and look absolutely glorious.

So, now you know the top spring flowering bulbs for planting in your low maintenance garden. Even if you only have a sunny doorstep, a tiny patio or a breezy balcony, I’d urge you to buy just one pack of spring flowering bulbs to plant, and see how much you enjoy watching them peep through the soil on cold and soggy days—it’s incredibly uplifting.

Words and photographs by:

Rowan Ambrose

Freelance copywriter and garden designer.