After seeing the crocus flowers "melt" into the dirt after it rained I wasn't too upset when I sliced and diced some when digging holes for new plants.

Stuck what I could salvage back into the ground away from new hole but I know it's like starting all over for having nice clump instead of one here and another there.

Sometimes I imagine the plants saying to one another, "Great, we had to get stuck with the newbie."...
LOL

I wouldn't mind the crocus so much, but on several occasions I have sliced through lily bulbs, ouch! And I destroyed my crown imperial (fritillaria) because I sliced that through when it was in its late summer dormant stage.

LOL! I always, always tell myself that I will remember where the crocuses or daffodils are, and I never, never remember! If my garden beds were really established and full, I would realize that the big empty spots were big and empty for a reason, lol. But my beds are not full, and have several empty spots. It just seems I always dig into the empty spots that well, aren't really empty after all, but full of bulbs!

:)
Dee

I still have the metal stake identifying where I planted Crown Imperial bulbs last fall.

That's all I have since they never even sent up foliage.

I planted them on their sides since I read that recommendation which said they don't like moisture accumulating in the center "hole" but there may be too much root competition from yews right behind where I planted them. Had to hack out roots to plant all other bulbs in that bed.

I sowed various Zinnia and large cream Marigold seeds in front and behind bulb spots to cover foliage that still hasn't browned and died back. It'll also delineate where I can add more Tulip bulbs come fall.

I sliced into bulbs AFTER I'd moved crocus & other small bulbs that were overwhelmed by "atomic" daffodils from mixed bag. Small bulb foliage disappeared and I neglected to mark where I'd moved them.

I marked where I moved all the Hyacinth as I put them all together in a makeshift raised rock bed. Love that fragrance! I sunk broken off pieces of plastic spoons covered with mulch to mark where each bulb is so I know where to add more this fall and put a planted container held up by rocks over them.

Garden "planning" on the fly!

My first attempt at Crown Imperials was that three out of four bulbs planted grew this Spring and bloomed, unfortunately, all three were yellow when the tag showed all were suppose to be orange. I was disappointed in that regard, buy I'll know next time to look specifically for an orange variety. The plants are exotic looking, very nice at the back of the border. Of course, I didn't mark the spot after they died off. Darn.

Bah - I've done this so many times!!! At least with the crocus they're small and not usually sliced in half like bigger bulbs but rather just usually dug up, so I just replant them. Still, my crocus display has dwindled over the years, probably because of getting dug up and then acidentlly discarded or not re-planted.

You are probably doing most bulb clumps a service by accidentally digging in to them and dispersing them to new spots. If they are doing well at all, they'll have bunches of little bulbs around them and when they get crowded, they begin to decline. You will destroy a few of them, but there probably are a lot more in there than what you initially planted.

My Betty Corning clematis went to town this year and wound itself all around the allium seed heads - which I always leave in place so I know where the bulbs are. But this time the clematis actually pulled the dead allium stems out. Or maybe it was a human clematis - not sure.
I'll never remember where those bulbs were - they still surprise me every spring.