BLUEBELLS

Another bulb to plant this time of year blooms as an erect spike of bell-shaped flowers--BLUEBELLS--  although they can actually be blue, white or pink flowers.  They bloom in mid spring, and form clumps of strap-shaped leaves.  They grow to be 8-16" plants, and self-sow and produce lots of offsets.  The plants can be left in place to form large, beautiful clumps.  The bulbs are hard to tell which side is up or down.  If you absolutely can't tell,  plant these bulbs 3 inches deep and 6" apart on their sides.  BLUEBELLS have been reclassified by botanists several times--and they've also been called Spanish Bluebells, English Bluebells, and a few others.  They make good cut flowers and are good in arrangements.  The only thing you need to be careful of is, some gardeners develop skin allergies to the foliage and the flowers, so be advised to wear gloves when working with the bulbs or the foliage.   They are hardy in zones 4-9, in either sun or shade, but I think they do best in at least partial sun.  They bloom a little later than the late single tulips, and last a long time.  I love the beautiful true blue of the nodding bells!