a good rule is to plant spring flowering bulbs in the fall and summer flowering bulbs in the spring. this will give the bulbs time to get established before flowering. I usually plant my perennials first and then tuck the bulbs into the spaces around them. also, you actually have a pretty decent selection for long lasting flowers. may I suggest a few summer bulbs like freesias or lilies to fill out the really hot weather? I find that a lot of bulbs slow down in the hot weather of july/ august (im zone 7/6b), so I love a few tropical plants that thrive on baking heat. I also like tuberoses, they like heat and smell wonderful. only thing is that you would either have to dig a lot of tropicals or buy them again next year. oh yes, a few beginner rules for bulbs; Plant about three times as deep as the bulb is high (unless the package states otherwise), trim off the flower stalk when the flower fades so the plant focuses on rebuilding the bulb instead of setting seed, be sure to plant the bulb right side up, and let the leaves yellow and die naturally instead of cutting them off. I tend to plant my spring bulbs in late September to early October. summer bulbs are a bit different. hardier ones can be planted in early to mid spring but for things that need heat, I do a test of my own. until I can comfortably walk barefoot in my yard, the soil is too cold for a lot of tropical bulbs. maybe other people have different advice, but that is how I plant my garden. best of luck :)

Check for when/where the shade is if it applies. I have daffodils, crocuses, squills, snow drops and an early Forsythia under a 60 year old Maple. They bloom before the tree leafs out.

Also, bulbs need to continue to grow after they bloom. They stock up nutrients for next year. Do not pick the greens until after they die off about 50% or more. Do not plant anything that will shade the leaves or cause them to rot.

Hosta has been good to hide the last of the daffodil leaves as it is late to sprout its own leaves.

Look for very early spring crocuses and you can plant them in the lawn. By the time it is to mow the awn, they have died back for the most part. I have had these for 50 years with minimal replacement. The fall blooming Saffron crocuses will make a great fall chicken dinner but remember, only three threads of saffron per flower! (:

Are you planning to stay along time? Plant a Maple tree about 20' off the west point of your house for summer time shade in about 10 - 15 years. Mine is about 60 years old. For a very attractive tree, Stuartia! Place it where you can easily see the bark year round.

My flowers are cycled by the calendar. March beds near the house, then April, May, etc around the year. There is always a cluster of bloom.

Look for the early blooming bushes and be the first in your neighborhood with color. Forsythia and Azalea are good choices if you get the early bloomers.

The front of my beds have annuals and I set a soaker hose there to help keep them alive in August. I don't water anything else for the most part.

I can go on about my 50 years of gardening but maybe that is enough for now.

I'll tell you a mistake I made a couple years ago. I thought ALL bulbs would come back if they were zone-appropriate. They are not creating bulbs that bloom once and die. I had a lovely mass of white tulips that never came back. Looking closer at the packaging, it said "Annual." Holy smokes!

The best quote I ever heard about flower bulbs was this, "Don't expect to take a dozen bulbs and get a WOWSA reaction. It just doesn't work like that."

Interesting, I cannot imagine a plant putting in so much work to create a bulb just for one performance. What bulbs do you have in mind? Do they produce green first then bloom once? Even an amaryllis comes back if you treat it properly but most people toss them out as a matter of convenience.

Granted, tulips are short lived but they are not annual.

My problem with bubs is that the picture rarely indicated the size of the stalk or flower. I have two locations where they are too short for the location and are hidden all the times and one where they are obnoxiously tall. Once they are in,they are not so easy to relocate, it could take years....

You are absolutely right, though, about not expecting great success on the first planting of a gather of bulbs. It may take several cycles to get them naturalized.

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Lots of really good info here.

But a quick answer to your question is that you plant around the bulbs. I have some places where I've forgotten the bulbs were there and planted a perennial on top of them. Bulbs don't really appreciate that, lol.

I've since learned that a good way to mark where the bulbs are is to insert golf tees into the soil. (I wish I could remember who first posted about using golf tees so I could thank them!) I try to put enough around the perimeter of however many bulbs I planted so I will remember the space they're in. It's especially helpful when fall planting because most bulb foliage is gone.