The music
of Bulb Design
E
Daffodils
By Neal Dombrowski, Crewleader - Natural Area
Each spring at Red Butte Garden you have the opportunity to see more than a random sampling of flowers, but a carefully composed arrangement of bulbs designed the previous fall by Peter Lassig, former head gardener for Temple Square. Lassig says, before he plants a single bulb, he first considers the shape of each bed and the surrounding plants and then he focuses on the angle, slope, and aspect of the bed as viewed by visitors. In fact, he says he begins designing the placement of daffodil, iris, hyacinth, daisy, and rock cress bulbs with musical composition in mind, quoting Mozart: “The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.”
placing the remaining bulbs appropriately.” Then he suggests I squint my eyes until the bulbs that lie on the ground are all I see. “Now,” he says dramatically, “imagine the bulbs in bloom.” Since this is my first time assisting with the design of a bulb planting, I know I will have to improve my ability to see the brown peeling balls on the ground as the astonishing frothy blooms they will become next spring.
“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.” -Mozart
He relates this theory to the eight varieties of Narcissus (daffodil) that we recently placed into a design on the soil in the Garden’s entry planting beds. “Altogether they should be arranged to create a visual symphony,” says Lassig.
Lassig takes on the part of a musical composer, trotting along the curb, calling to each species of Daffodil with conductors’ hands and vocal tones as he considers this future floral melody. “The design makes sense so far,” he tells me, “but we have to finish the piece by listening to the silence and
Eight of the largest, showiest varieties of daffodils are used in the design with over 8,500 bulbs at the Garden entrance. The entry gives visitors and staff alike a stunning “overture” of the more than 324,000 bulbs that provide a full floral symphony throughout the Garden in early and late spring.
Our earliest daffodils to bloom are the Narcissus varieties ‘February Gold’ with it’s yellow, reflexed petals and Tete-a-Tete, a miniature that blooms in pairs. Gigantic Star is among the largest of our varieties, growing to two feet tall. Late Spring blooms include the varieties ‘After All’ and ‘Cheerfulness.’ Visit the Garden now and again in spring, because, if you squint your eyes, you can picture these abundant blooms. And if you listen closely, you can hear them warming up for their spring symphony.
www.redbuttegarden.org
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