Wiltshire


<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/10/image.jpeg" alt="The Tulip Garden by Polly Nicholson Phaidon " class="wp-image-38809" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/10/image.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/10/image-800x534.jpeg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/10/image-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Andrew Montgomery / The Tulip Garden</figcaption></figure>



<p>Are you longing for your garden to burst into an insta-worthy blaze of colour come spring, but not sure how? Look no further. November is<em> the</em> time to leap into action, and Wiltshire-based specialist grower Polly Nicholson is here to tell you how to plant tulips. It&#8217;s fair to say she has some serious credentials: she&#8217;s author of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phaidon.com/store/home-and-garden/the-tulip-garden-growing-and-collecting-species-rare-and-annual-varieties-9781838667689/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>The Tulip Garden</em></a><em>.</em>&nbsp;and her business, <a href="https://www.bayntunflowers.co.uk/about" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bayntun Flowers</a>,&nbsp;supplies organic cut flowers to a select clientele, including Shane Connolly, Florist by Royal Appointment to HM the King. Polly is also a Floral Judge at Chelsea Flower Show, and tickets for her annual National Garden Scheme opening sell out in hours. Impressive stuff! </p>



<p>So, who better to ask for advice on planting, growing and making the most of your tulips? Here, Polly shares her top tips&#8230;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-by-Polly-Nicholson-Phaidon-Photography-by-Andrew-Montgomery-2-1000x667.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-36185" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-by-Polly-Nicholson-Phaidon-Photography-by-Andrew-Montgomery-2-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-by-Polly-Nicholson-Phaidon-Photography-by-Andrew-Montgomery-2-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-by-Polly-Nicholson-Phaidon-Photography-by-Andrew-Montgomery-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-by-Polly-Nicholson-Phaidon-Photography-by-Andrew-Montgomery-2.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Andrew Montgomery / The Tulip Garden</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-buy-in-bulk">Buy in bulk</h2>



<p>First up, you need to buy your tulips. ‘It’s much more cost effective to buy tulips in bulk,’ says Polly. ‘I recommend choosing varieties that are more likely to come back. I go heavy on Lily-flowered&nbsp;and Viridiflora tulips, which have green in the petals. They are two of my favourite divisions.’</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-experiment">Experiment </h2>



<p>‘Plant bulbs in peat free compost, with good drainage, in November,’ says Polly. ‘And do experiment, so you don’t get stuck in a groove. Try planting a series of pots with identical pure white tulips, like Tulipa ‘Très Chic’, or have fun with a cacophony of clashing colours.’ &nbsp;</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-go-big">Go Big</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-by-Polly-Nicholson-Phaidon-Photography-by-Andrew-Montgomery-3-1000x667.jpg" alt="The Tulip Garden by Polly NIcholson (Phaidon). Image by Andrew Montgomery" class="wp-image-36184" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-by-Polly-Nicholson-Phaidon-Photography-by-Andrew-Montgomery-3-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-by-Polly-Nicholson-Phaidon-Photography-by-Andrew-Montgomery-3-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-by-Polly-Nicholson-Phaidon-Photography-by-Andrew-Montgomery-3-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-by-Polly-Nicholson-Phaidon-Photography-by-Andrew-Montgomery-3.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Andrew Montgomery / The Tulip Garden</figcaption></figure>



<p>‘I love huge containers,’ adds Polly.&nbsp;‘They have so much more impact. At Blacklands, we opt for quirky vintage containers up to three or even four foot in diameter. They’re often slightly rusted and I prefer them large, because they are much easier to maintain. It’s far quicker to water one big container than lots of little ones, and they don’t harbour colonies of slugs in the same way.’</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-break-the-rules"><strong>Break the rules</strong></h2>



<p>‘Whether you’re planting bulbs or arranging cut tulips in a vase, don’t worry about the traditional rule of grouping in odd numbers,’ says Polly. ‘There&#8217;s absolutely nothing wrong with planting half a dozen tulips together as opposed to five or seven. I supply a lot of flowers for Shane Connolly, Florist by Royal Appointment, and he’s taught me to disregard this fairly recent tradition. When he’s making his beautiful table decorations, he’ll happily have two or four stems arranged together.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-control-pests"><strong>Control pests</strong></h2>



<p>‘To stop slugs nibbling your tulip bulbs, protect the drainage hole in the base of the pot with fine mesh. I use chicken wire hats over the tops, sprigs of holly and even chilli pepper to deter squirrels until the shoots are about 3” high.’</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-go-wild"><strong>Go wild</strong></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-Andrew-Montgomery.jpg" alt="The Tulip Garden Polly Nicholson image by Andrew Montgomery" class="wp-image-36152" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-Andrew-Montgomery.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-Andrew-Montgomery-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-Andrew-Montgomery-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Image: Andrew Montgomery / The Tulip Garden</figcaption></figure>



<p>‘I don’t plant ‘normal’ annual tulips in my flower beds,’ says Polly. ‘It’s partly because I find that rather municipal in appearance, but they also don’t flower as well the following year. Instead, I plant them in containers or in my cutting garden. I plant species tulips at the front of my herbaceous beds, where they can be best appreciated.&nbsp;Species tulips, also known as botanical tulips, are the original wild tulips.&nbsp; They are smaller in stature, slender-stemmed and quieter in nature. They’ll come back year after year and create their own colonies by stolon, seed or offsets, so you end up with a steadily increasing, perennial display.’</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recycle-bulbs"><strong>Recycle bulbs</strong></h2>



<p>‘In November, I replant the previous season&#8217;s annual tulips in the banks along our drive,’ says Polly. ‘They’ll then reappear the following year if I’m lucky (and if the deer don’t get them).&nbsp;You have to accept that if you’re recycling commercially bred tulips, they’ll dwindle slightly second time round. It’s all very time consuming but I’m fortunate that I have a great team, led by Andy Wilson, our head gardener.’</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="2000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-book-cover-Phaidon.jpg" alt="The tulip garden " class="wp-image-36183" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-book-cover-Phaidon.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-book-cover-Phaidon-600x800.jpg 600w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-book-cover-Phaidon-750x1000.jpg 750w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-book-cover-Phaidon-768x1024.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wilts/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2025/03/The-Tulip-Garden-book-cover-Phaidon-1152x1536.jpg 1152w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<p><strong>Find out more in<em>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.phaidon.com/store/home-and-garden/the-tulip-garden-growing-and-collecting-species-rare-and-annual-varieties-9781838667689/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Tulip Garden</a></em>&nbsp;by Polly Nicholson, with photography by Andrew Montgomery (Phaidon, £29.95)</strong></p>



<p><strong>IN THE MOOD FOR MORE? </strong></p>



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Colour pop! How to plant tulip bulbs for a spring blaze of colour

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