Naturalizing is a term used to describe an informal planting style that is planned to look, well, unplanned.
The most common means of achieving this look is simply to select an area, toss dozens or hundreds of bulbs into the air and then plant them where they fall. It's easiest to do this if you first dig up the entire area to the recommended planting depth.
If naturalizing on an existing lawn, you can either poke individual holes into the soil with a bulb planting tool or you can lift up the sod, toss the bulbs and replace the sod. The latter method, which is is less time consuming and less back-breaking, is achieved by cutting the sod with a spade and then gently lifting it up, folding or rolling it out of the way. Be sure to cut deeply enough so you lift the root system with the grass. After loosening the soil underneath with a tiller or fork, plant the bulbs at their recommended depths and then fold the sod back into place. Walk over it a few times to tamp it down a bit.
Early spring-blooming bulbs, corms, tubers and rhyzomes (for simplicity, let's just call them all 'bulbs') are best for naturalizing in lawns because they make their appearances before the grass-growing season begins. Often the first signs of life of a new growing season, they fade around the time you're ready to mow for the first time. You do have to wait until the foliage has turned brown and died down before mowing but that shouldn't interfere much with your lawn-care schedule as long as you stick to early bloomers.
Later-blooming plants such as most daffodils and tulips -- while perfectly suited for naturalizing -- shouldn't be planted in lawns because the grass will get really long and mangy looking before their foliage turns brown, usually 6 weeks after blooming. Cutting down leaves before they dry up will result in a sorry showing the following spring, as it cuts short the time required for the bulb to soak up and store nutrients for the next growing season. It's best to plant these in beds where daylilies and other later-blooming plants will hide their foliage.
Early bloomers like crocuses are ideal for naturalizing in lawns because they meet two important criteria: They're low-growing, so if you have to wait a bit for them to die down, they won't look funny in the grass, and they multiply, resulting in a better display each year. Just be sure not to fertilize the lawn with a high nitrogen fertilizer, which will cut down on future blossoms.
Naturalizing needn't be relegated only to lawn areas. Spots under deciduous trees are ideal because they're quite sunny when the trees are bare.
My pick this year:
Name: A pre-mixed batch of crocuses called "Crocreation"
Height: 5"
Bloom time: Very early spring
Purchased from: Colorblends.com
How many: 300
Duds in the batch: 0
Catalog description: "This blend of bright purple and golden yellow is very floriferous, each corm producing several large flowers. Plant them under trees or shrubs, or in the lawn."
