What are you supposed to do after the tulips are done
blooming when you want to clean up the bed? I've heard
that you should leave the leaves there but they look so
messy.

afdr9lk expounded:

What are you supposed to do after the tulips are done
blooming when you want to clean up the bed? I've heard
that you should leave the leaves there but they look so
messy.

Yes, they're messy, but essential to next year's bloom. Snap off the
spent flower head and let the folliage brown - or pull the tulips and
throw them out. Many people replace tulips year to year.

--
Ann, gardening in Zone 6a
South of Boston, Massachusetts
e-mail address is not checked
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A simple solution is to have a houttunya groundcover surrounding them.
It will come up as the tulips recess. Daylily also helps hide the
tulips (and daffodils).