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Learn with Jacqueline van der Kloet

Spring Flowering Bulbs with Perennials

Jacueline van de Kloet teaches you how to plant a spring flower bulb garden

Course overview

Jacqueline takes Noel on a tour of her garden, discussing which bulbs she plants where, and why. She takes us back to basics, going into depth about what is inside a bulb. She talks about different combinations of bulbs which work well together, and goes on to demonstrate successful planting techniques (both in borders, rock gardens, meadows, woodland areas and in containers). She also goes into depth on lasagna-planting, when to order and when to plant, how to scatter and maintenance after planting.

Meet Jacqueline van der Kloet

I'm perhaps best known for my collaboration with the famous planting designer Piet Oudolf. My expertise is bulbous plants, experimenting in my own garden, the Theetuin (“tea garden”), which was established at Weesp near Amsterdam some 30 years ago. I source plants in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Africa, China, the United States, Oman and “most Western European countries,” observing plant communities in the wild with a view to replicating them at home as part of my naturalistic designs. A late starter, I “fell into plants” at the age of 28, soon after qualifying as a garden designer I travelled to China and was amazed to see the likes of Nandina domestica (the heavenly bamboo) and also the camphor tree, Cinnamomum camphora, growing both wild and as a street tree. I have been to the USA and China many times, but nothing inspires me as much as the spring mountain meadows, which always blow me away. It has something to do with the 'natural style’ that I love so much. My first love was perennials. It gave me so much joy discovering which ones would be suitable for the different parts of the garden, which is mainly on clay soil, so quite moist, but with some drier areas. But then after six or seven years I discovered’ spring-flowering bulbs and the possibility of mixing them with other plantings. In the past few years annuals and summer-flowering bulbs have become favourites. I find those four groups of plants so inspiring and I like to test all kinds of combinations. I'm excited to be able to reach out to you wherever you are in the world, and share my knowledge and passion through these online horticulture and garden design courses at Learning with Experts. Piet Oudolf and I continue to collaborate on bulb plantings all over the world and update our work here accordingly. I look forward to seeing you in the classroom.

Course description

Learn how to plant bulbs to create an incredible spring garden full of flowers with renowned bulb specialist and Keukenhof garden designer Jacqueline van der Kloet.

This flower bulb course takes you through the year, from Jacqueline's bulb planting in her own garden then the spring and summer flowers. Jacqueline will take us on a tour of the Keukenhof, where over 7 million bulbs are planted annually. And she'll explain planting techniques - including the lasagne layering method.

This course covers how to plant spring flowering bulbs in the naturalistic style used by Jacqueline and Piet Oudolf: bulbs planted in autumn go through a cold period in winter and start to flower in spring. The course includes snowdrops, grape hyacinths, daffodils, tulips and ornamental onions.

Your tutor

Jacqueline van der Kloet has worked alongside garden designer Piet Oudolf to incorporate bulbs into New York City’s Battery Park and Chicago's Millennium Park.

She's also worked on a ten-acre renovation of beds at Holland’s Keukenhof, one of the largest ­public flower gardens in the world.

Jacqueline is famous for her work on TV host and author Martha Stewart's New York garden, which included 116,000 bulbs, all in shades of blue and planted by using Jacqueline's signature “sprinkling” planting method - handfuls of bulbs are lovingly sprinkled onto the ground, to be planted where they fall.

You'll learn:

  • about the horticultural structure of bulbs
  • how to extend the life of bulbs
  • lasagne layering bulb planting techniques
  • how to use bulbs in different areas - including in rock gardens and meadows
  • lessons from Keukenhof on using flower bulbs

Time to complete this course:

Every student is different, but in general, we think the course will take around 12 hours and 10 minutes to complete, including:

  • Assignment: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Video lessons: 1 hour 10 minutes in total
  • Assignment: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per assignment

You'll need:

You don't need any special equipment, but you will be responding to bulb garden design briefs and designing your own bulb planting scheme.

The course is suitable for all levels - beginners to garden designers or horticulture professionals who want to learn from an expert in flowering bulbs.

The course includes:

  • On-demand video lesson - presented by Jacqueline van de Kloet
  • lifetime access to the video, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical (optional) bulb selection and planting planning project
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom chat with students from around the world