Chanticleer's Bulb Lawn

Viburnum macrocephalum and Tulipa 'Akebona' in Chanticleer's Bulb Meadow.

When you emerge from Chanticleer's Asian Woods, you are greeted by sunshine and a wide swath of grass. But this is no ordinary field. In April and May, it is filled with a succession of colorful bulbs and flowering trees. This is the Bulb Lawn, where tulip, daffodils and bluebells abound.

This scene greets visitors as they leave Asian Woods. The fresh, new hosta leaves are at the edge of the woodland, and they blend the garden into the grass. The Silverbell or American Snowdrop tree (Halesia diptera) likes these woodland edges; it is blooming on the right.

The Chinese Snowball Bush, Viburnum macrocephalum, is a semi-evergreen shrub that is hardy in zones 6-9. As with most spring flowering shrubs and trees, pruning should be done right after flowering to avoid cutting off its new flower buds later in the year. More plant information here.

This beautiful yellow pairing is Tulipa 'Akebona' and Hosta 'Tokudama'. A nice stand of Asian tree peonies (Paeonia) show their buds and palmate foliage on the right.

Tulipa 'Akebona' is primarily yellow, but also has green flames and patches of red.  It is a truly romantic tulip. You can just see the Spanish bluebells coming up under these tulips.

Tulipa 'Akebona' and Hosta 'Tokudama' tumbling down the hill beside Asian Woods.

Looking to the left reveals another acre of colorful spring blooms, both on the ground and in the air.

Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides hispanica 'Excelsior') and bright yellow daffodils (Narcissus 'Hawera') in rough grass in the Bulb Lawn. Narcissus 'Hawera' is a beautiful little 'Triandrus' group daffodil, which has slender foliage and several flowers on each stem. I planted some Narcissus 'Hawera' in my own zone 5 garden and they have re-bloomed well in my sunny areas.

A glorious spring ensemble! The Himalayan Pine (Pinus wallichiana) adds some blue foliage to echo the bluebells.

Bluebells bloom at the bottom of this hill and also at the top in the distance as you follow the grassy path.

Read more of the Chanticleer Series on WMG