Planting flower bulbs has been a homestead tradition for as long as people have lived in the Ozarks. Hiking around in our national forests proves my claim, as you can come upon old farm homes deep in the woods and find, among the remaining ruins, plantings of flowers still growing around the yard.
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If you sit down and look around at the borders created by the flowers growing from bulbs, you can imagine the front walk, the clothes line, garden spot and out buildings that have long since returned to the Earth. The reason they were so popular is that flowers from minor bulbs grew unattended year after year.
Minor bulbs are distinguished from Major bulbs by their size – large Major bulbs include our old friends like Iris, Tiger lily and Tulips. But you will recognize the little ones, too – Grape Hyacinth, Crocus and Violets. One big advantage of planting minor bulbs is they take up little space, perfect for container gardening.
These minor bulbs do best when planted in the fall, then to bloom the following spring. They can stand a pretty good freeze, but will like a good mulch for protection. Take back the mulch as soon as the ground begins to warm – you'll probably see them coming up no matter how early.
Planting bulbs is a year to year obsession once you get started. Even though there are many other flowers and veggies to grow, flowers from bulbs will come up year after year. The minor bulbs are just special because of their delicate nature and vibrant colors.
