The garden centre - part 3: colour palettes

The Garden Centre - Colour Palettes

Garden centres are the perfect place to curate a palette of colours you love for your garden. With Arthur's guidance, you'll learn how to organise colour palettes.

For any tulip collection, Arthur would always put Crocus as a part of a bulb lasagne. The lovely crocus 'Orange Monarch' is his favourite: it gives that first hint of jaffa cake orange in early February.

'Orange Monarch' and 'Flower Accord' are in his tulip pots, regardless of what he's planting. His main principle is to choose three different tulips that flower at different heights and flower in succession.

Tulips that flower at different heights and in succession

• 'Rocco' - an early-to-flower tulip that is also short
• 'Couleur Cardinal' - a mid-season flower and a bit higher than the Rocco
• 'Ridgedale' - a late-to-flower tulip that is taller than the other two

Including Narcissi in a Paler Palette

Arthur quite likes 'Actaea' narcissi, which is wonderful and fragrant. He would pair it with pale-coloured tulips.

Narcissi Palette

'Golden Artist' - late April - May, a 45cm (18in) Tulip

'Spring Green' - late April - May, a 45cm (18in) Tulip

'Green Star' - late April - May, a 45cm (18in) Tulip

Narcissus 'Actaea' - March - April, a 45cm (18in) Tulip

Alliums

Alliums are a bit tricky as their foliage can be problematic. Arthur doesn't put many alliums in his combinations. All you need are three or five allium bulbs. 'Purple Sensation' is the cheapest and the earliest to flower and will catch up with 'Blue Parrot' tulips. If you want an allium that will flower after all the tulips, Allium schubertii is great.

Working Out Your Quantities

On average, when Arthur is doing a pot planted with tulip bulbs, he will do a minimum of 30 bulbs. If it's a huge pot, he can go up to 70 or 100. All the bags contain the same number of bulbs, from 5 to 10.

When he gets home, he mixes all the bulbs in a bucket. The colours will appear natural if they are randomly generated, which helps to ensure they are totally random.

Arthur is using seven tulip varieties, but you can contain it and stick to fewer varieties. Whenever you're feeling confused or worried, just think about the varieties you love and go back to decoupage. Try to stay on track and don't act on impulse or you'll risk ruining the display you carefully curated at home.

Arthur buys bulbs from the garden centre and online to ensure that he has the largest selection of bulbs he can.

Burford Garden Company

Visiting Burford Garden Centre has always been a treat for Arthur. They have healthy stock that is stored collectively. He rarely goes anywhere where the bulbs are in a heated shop. It's better to keep them somewhere cool and dry where they'll stay healthy.