Can someone explain to me how I can have Spring bulbs in a flower bed as well as other things later in the year?

[plug]

This has always baffled me - how do people manage to have a wonderful display of daffs etc and then magically a month later there's a load of other plants that have appeared (they haven't planted them though, they've just sprouted out of the ground)? How is there room for both?

plug - I'm no great gardener, but it is possible to have multiple plants in at the same time. Bulbs and perannuals can be layered in the ground and will come and go depending on their growth season. If you want a display that renews itself with new plants/flowers you'd need to research their growing month and ensure you plant them right - ie don't plant all the 'May' growing plants in the same place - spread them about etc. Go to your garden centre for professional advice! It is a lot of work to create but does look lovely! The planting of the bulbs/roots usually occurs the year before - that's why you dont see them out planting before they appear. I think Daff bulbs are to be planted end of summer/beginning of autumn...

A nice way to do it if you have the space is to create a wild garden. Get your seeds and bulbs from your garden centre and throw them across the area where you want your wild garend to be. Then simply plant them where they have landed to create a wild and informal garden that will not only look lovely but will attract wildlife (butterflies, insects, hedgehogs etc) into your garden! And you dont need to cut the grass in this area either until the end of the season!!!

Thanks divedaisy, that's interesting. I like the idea of a wild garden, that would suit my gardening style .

Do you have to bury bulbs quite deeply? If so, I suppose that would help as you wouldn't keep digging up the bulbs when you were planting other things.

bulbs are usually planted deeper than plants. also as divedaisy says, bulbs often go in in winter (depends what, but things like tulips/daffs are late autumn) and then you can either put plants in in spring when the bulbs have died back, or you can plant bulbs when your perennial plants (ones that come back every year) are dying back and you can see where the spaces are.
if you are planning a border from scratch you can do both together just lay them out carefully and remember that perennials will die back over winter, shrinking back to give the bulbs space, and then start shooting up in late spring (around now) when the bulbs are dying back. which means they will helpuflly hide the deeply depressing sight of halfdead daffodils.
if you missed out on bulb planting you can still if you're quick get some in for flowering summer/autumn (gladioli, nerines). if planting in autumn watch the fecking squirrels. they dig for bulbs over winter and if you're not careful will eat the lot before they can send up shoots. chickenwire spread over the bare earth can deter them.

Oh I SEEEEEE! Thanks woodstock3, I need to get planning/planting then.

Its all in the planning! If you are starting from scratch I personally would measure the area you want to plant out, take note of which way your garden faces and then go and speak to your garden centre. They will recommed the correct number of plants for the area and should even draw you out a planting plan - giving you the correct spacing/depth etc advice for each plant.

Think about colours you'd prefer - some like a full colour platter, whereas others prefer colour schemes (eg red and yellow) or tones of one colour (eg plums, reds, oranges and pinks to work together).

If you are working with plants already insitu, make a list of what you've got (if you know) or take a few cuttings to show if you're uncertain, and make a plan where they are situated in your area. They will plan around those too!

Have fun!!!

And don't forget to label where the bulbs are, so that you don't spear them with the fork when you're planting other things later!