Collection of bulbs to naturalise in yellow/blue

A beautiful collection of spring bulbs, bringing together three botanical varieties with yellow and blue flowers, to naturalise in your garden! The pretty canary yellow flowers of the Hawera narcissus will mingle with the bright yellow of wood tulips and the bi-coloured blue and purple clusters of Muscari latifolium. Planted in well-drained and fertile soil, en masse, in rockeries, as a flowering carpet under a tree or along a path, they will have a natural and spontaneous charm that will delight many. 

The Narcissus triandrus 'Hawera' was obtained in 1928 by Dr. William M. Thomson. This New Zealand doctor gave this new variety the name of his place of residence, Hawera, located on the North Island. "Hawera" also means "breath of fire" in Maori. Narcissus triandrus is widespread in Spain, Portugal and France. 'Hawera' forms a clump reaching about 25cm (10in) in height when in bloom. Its flowers appear in groups of 2 to 5 at the end of each stem. It is a plant that blooms rather late, in April-May, with yellow-green flower buds that open into lovely star-shaped flowers in canary yellow, slightly lighter in the centre, leaning towards the ground. These flowers are deliciously scented. The trumpet-shaped corolla is surrounded by thin and narrow petals, slightly curved. The foliage is deciduous, cylindrical, and disappears in summer. The flowering is abundant, uniform, and attracts pollinating insects. This award-winning variety has the prestigious RHS Award of Garden Merit and multiplies easily by producing bulblets, without any intervention of the gardener, forming large clumps over time. The Narcissus 'Hawera' belongs to Division 5 of the large family of narcissus, which includes 12 divisions.

Tulipa sylvestris, also known as the Wild Tulip, is a European botanical species that is charming: it offers elegant scented corollas with pointed petals in bright yellow, doubled with green, which blend beautifully with all other small spring bulbs. It is a prolific and easy-to-grow plant. It naturalises itself and will form large radiant colonies as soon as the first sunny days arrive. Tulipa sylvestris is a wild tulip native to a vast area ranging from southern Europe to eastern Europe, southern Siberia, central Asia, and western China. Like all tulips, it belongs to the lily family. It is a herbaceous plant with a bulb, initially producing linear green-blue leaves before flowering from March to May depending on the region. The plant produces small solitary flowers, 4cm (2in) in diameter, at the end of 12cm (5in) tall stems, sometimes erect or slightly inclined, in golden yellow colour, very bright and fragrant. Each flower consists of 3 narrow sepals curving outward, and 3 wider petals curving inward when the corolla opens in the sun. It is this difference in the orientation of the petals that gives the corolla a particularly refined appearance. The centre of the flower is shiny black, and the petals close when the sun hides. Pollinated by insects, the flowers produce green fruits that brown and open at maturity to release their seeds. The foliage dries up a few weeks after flowering, marking the bulb's entry into dormancy.

The Muscari latifolium, also known as Broad-leaved Grape Hyacinth, is a bulbous plant from the hyacinth family, native to the coniferous forests of the mountains of southern and western Turkey. It is often found growing on the edge of sparse pine forests, on slightly acidic soil. Rather tall for a muscari, this plant sometimes reaches 40cm (16in) in height. Its vegetative cycle begins in September-October, when its single leaf appears (rarely two leaves are observed). Its wide, pruinose, and curled leaf at the base persists throughout winter. A single flower stalk emerges in spring, in April-May depending on the climate and weather. The inflorescence is a cluster of flowers, 2 to 6cm (1 to 2in) long and about 1.5cm (1in) wide. The urn-shaped flowers are small, measuring only 5 to 6 mm (1in) in length. They are tightly packed together, forming a narrow and dense cone. The lower flowers are fertile, of a nearly black-blue-violet colour; they are the ones that produce seeds after pollination by insects. The sterile flowers located at the top of the spike, on the other hand, are a very bright medium blue. Their role is to attract pollinating insects. This bulb naturalises easily in light soil.

Plant these bulbs in well-drained and loosened soil. Results are less successful in overly wet soils in summer. Whether en masse, as a flowering carpet, or along a path, they will have a good decorative effect. Or why not naturalise them randomly in a lawn or at the base of bushes? These beautiful and easy botanical varieties are unmatched in embodying the long-awaited return of spring in the garden. They settle in one fine autumn day in rockeries, flower beds, and borders, then multiply without requiring any particular care or maintenance.