In every border there is a splash of acid, attracting the eye and forming a bright backdrop to all the spring flowers. Of course, the acid is the from the flowering bracts of Euphorbia, both rigida and myrsinites.
Everywhere I look there is colour, the garden has never had so many spring bulbs as this year. Let me share some images with you.
Euphorbia rigida mostly planted itself at the base of each pillar of the terrace
Orange tulips, Stipa tenuissima and Euphorbia what a perfect combination
New planting of T. Brown Sugar, I’ve just added some seedlings of Euphorbia myrsinites to these
Anemone coronaria ‘Sylphide’ with Euphorbia rigida
The advantage of Euphorbia as a ground cover plant is that bulbs can easily grow up through the long spreading stems.
Anemone coronaria ‘Sylphide’
In the woodland border Anemone coronaria planted three or four years ago have multiplied.
As the Hyacinths I planted 5 years ago have consisted regrown I splashed out on many more bulbs last autumn, I’m thrilled with the effect
I bought mixes with shades of blue and shades of pink
Pink mix Hyacinths and Tulip Double Negrita
Clematis armandii
View across the Large Island to the upper slope path
All the tulips flowering now had been chilled for at least 12 weeks prior to planting, those already in the ground are at various stages of growth so as long as the mice don’t find them all I’m hoping for a long tulips season, which began at the end of January with the pots in the greenhouse.
Enjoy your spring!
Creating my own garden of the Hesperides 
Your hyacinths and anemones are beautiful and yes, they contrast so well with your euphorbias. Spring is such a wonderful time of year for a gardener.
Don’t worry Pauline I have potted up lots of Euphorbia rigida, when I come to the UK in May for Chelsea I’ll bring them with me and post them to you.
Your garden is looking beautiful with all the colors. Do you dig up your tulips every year?
No, I don’t dig up the tulips every year; the only reason to do that is if the ground is wet during summer; here it is very dry so they are completely happy in the ground. In UK wet summers the bulbs would rot which is why many people dig them up.
It is too wet and hot here for tulips.
They don’t mind any amount of heat in summer but must have 12 weeks minimum of below 12°C in winter to flower.
Christina her garden is wonderful. If it is for the Euphorbias, live for them! How many Tulips, Hyacinths and Anemones have all the colors and shapes. Is beautiful! The photos are very beautiful. May you enjoy so much beauty in your garden. Greetings from Margarita.
Thank you Margarita
Your Anemones look as lovely as ever, and the lime green brings the other colours alive. Love all those Hyacinths – Much more effective planted in numbers than just the odd one here and there!
I thought it was worth planting a lot of hyacinths as the others have done so well.
The Euphorbia sets off the bulbs beautifully, and of course the sunshine. Amelia
That last shot is stunning, I love all the colours in there. Spring is looking truly wonderful for you!
I think it is one of the nicest springs we’ve had Jessica; and all the extra early tulips (from being chilled before planting) really makes the garden sing!
SO lovely – I love the colors and your post title! 😉 The hyacinths must perfume the entire area. Your photos look so warm and sunny – balm for this snowbound girl!
Today it is more like summer than even spring Eliza; the greenhouse temperature has shot up over 30 °C and I changed into a t-shirt I was so hot! there’s no wind at all, it won’t last of course but nice for today.
Enjoy!
Your garden may indeed by on acid, Christina! It looks terrific. Your weather extremes seem to have done no harm. My Euphorbia rigida look sad by comparison but I comfort myself that they’re putting on a better show this year than last year so maybe the trend will continue, Your bulbs do you and the garden proud!
I’m surprised that your Euphorbia doesn’t relish your conditions. It is one of the few plants that looks really good during mid-summer (actually it always looks good). Does it get water from your irrigation, it wouldn’t like that much.
I feel the same way about Euphorbia – it gives everything else at this time of year that extra punch, doesn’t it! Here we’re still waiting for the tulips to add their contribution, so it’s lovely to see the variety of colour in your garden.
Having one plant running throughout the garden also adds continuity which I like.
Stunning combinations and colours, Christina. The repetition of euphorbia at the base of the wisteria and the way it drapes the gravel is very effective too.
This Euphorbia does so well for me, I’m happy to transplant many seedlings into modules over the winter and then plant them where I want them in spring.
You must be thrilled with the result of all your efforts with bulbs, Christina, especially the tulips, and that euphorbia works so well with them. Seeing the anemones in your woodland border makes me wonder how mine would fare in woodland edge border – I have some Sylphide growing strongly in the greenhouse and would love to be able to keep them going outside, but other years haven’t managed it. What conditions do yours have in your woodland border?
Like all the garden the soil is very free draining and therefore dry unless irrigated. That’s what the Anemones seem to thrive on.
Christina you have a good eye for combinations. I love the lime of the various euphorbia against the strong oranges of brown sugar. Really nice textures too.
Thanks Doris, the first gardening book I ever bought for myself was about planting combinations, it’s stuck with me as being very important.
I think it is easy to overlook when planning a border. When done well the neighbouring plants enhance each other, like yours do.
My very first garden I planted the borders as a series of combinations of 2 or 3 plants. I rarely plant anything without thinking about what is next to it.
Your garden looks very happy this spring Christina. Sheer delight.
I don’t think it has ever looked better.
Oh, the orange tulips are my favorites. You have a very pleasing garden, hard work pays off!
Thank you, but doing what I love doesn’t seem so hard!
Lovely planting which looks both stunning and natural – what an achievement! I’ve never seen hyacinths doing so well in a garden, and their sweet perfume must be sensational. The anemones are beautiful – I don’t know anything about them, are they also bulbs?
Here in Cairo we don’t have much at all in the way of bulbs, just imported amaryllis – but we do have orange trees in blossom right now and they smell divine.Tulips might be seen on Ottoman Turkish ceramics, but that’s about all!
I would have thought that lots of bulbs would actually grow well for you Silvia. Tulips need long hot summers with no water to grow, but maybe your winters aren’t cold enough for them, they need 12 weeks of less than 10°C. Other bulbs might be even better.
It looks divine Christina. I love the hyacinths and anemones scattered amongst the grey foliage. I hope that my T. ‘Brown Sugar’ looks as good as yours!
I hope it does too!
Wonderful to have all that spring color. Of course, my eyes are drawn to your Tulips, especially ‘Brown Sugar’.
I like especially the clump of tulip ‘Negrita’ and hyacinths and am intrigued by the figure in their midst. Is it a Madonna? The grass behind is a fabulous finishing touch.
The terracotta figure is San Fiacre, patron saint of gardeners
Your spring garden is wonderful Christina and the scent of the hyacinths everywhere must be divine. Euphorbia rigida is amazing I think it is not quite hardy here. Brown Sugar is a winner.
Fantastic! The anemones just seem to get better with every spring and I love the intense colors coming up as healthy bunches of blooms. I really wonder what hoops I would have to jump through to get a few in flower over here…. maybe some day!
This year the Anemones really do seem to have bulked up about from some seedlings that have flowered this year.
Gorgeous colours
thank you; hope you’re well.