Planting in the green

Planting ‘in the green’, or while plants are in growth, can help create natural-looking swathes of flowers from late winter to summer.

- Anne Swithinbank

THE majority of spring-flowering bulbs are bought and planted while they are dry and dormant in autumn, but a few are traditionally planted ‘in the green’ or in growth. Some, such as the rhizomes of wood anemone and lily of the valley, may have little more than a bud on their underground stems, while snowdrop and winter aconite bulbs are lifted with plenty of leaf just before, during or after flowering. They are dug from nursery beds and sent out bare-rooted in pots or bundles in late winter or spring.

Covered in growth

The term ‘in the green’ is an old one, meaning covered in growth. As part of English 18th century May Day celebrations, milkmaids wearing pyramid-shaped decorations on their heads would garland pails with leaves and flowers. By the early 1800s, this tradition had been hijacked by other trades, but especially chimney sweeps who paraded as Jack-in-the-green completely hidden under elaborate pyramids of greenery.

Contenders for planting ‘in the green’ tend to be wild, easy-to-grow plants that naturalise well – in other words, those that return to flower readily year after year and increase their spread. Some are so good at this that they become invasive and you would certainly keep an eye on grape hyacinths (muscari) and wild garlic.

In gardens, they make informal swathes between shrubs, in grassy areas and on banks, most flowering in spring and dying back in summer. Always allow the leaves to flourish and then fade naturally, as they need to photosynthesise and fuel bulbs for next year’s growth.

Carpets of colour