If you want to create colour year after year, flowering bulbs, corms or tubers are one of the fastest, easiest most cost-efficient ways to create a bright array. Autumn is the time for planting bulbs that will flower between January and May the following year, such as daffodils, snowdrops, bluebells, Hyacinths and crocus; while spring is the time to plant most summer flowering bulbs including gladioli, irises, dahlias, nerines, agapanthus and lilies (which can also be planted in autumn).

You can create a mass display, add height to a flower bed, try a small clump of a low-growing variety in a border or grow them in pots. All the nourishment for the flower is stored in their bulbous roots. After they have bloomed, many bulbs can be left in the soil to come up again the next year – so just check the info on the packaging and get planning.

Choosing your bulbs

Before buying your bulbs, you may like to draw up a planting plan. Choose a mixture of colours and varieties, and plants of different heights and flowering times to create real interest. It is best to group colours and sorts so that one part of your garden is in full bloom, rather than a few single bulbs dotted around. Flowering bulbs are ideal for mixing with other bulbs or Bedding plants in containers or for planting amid other plants that may bloom at a different time of the year and most will tolerate a variety of soils and are very easy to grow. Most bulbs have a long dormant period, requiring little attention for much of the year. When buying bulbs check they're healthy and as fresh as possible, or your spring show could be a washout. Avoid any that are damaged, shrivelled or feel soft, and go for plump, firm bulbs. Aim to plant within a week or they’ll start to sprout. When possible, check that the plants have been obtained from reliable growers, rather than from stock that has been collected from the wild.

The packets carry picture cards and full descriptions, but ask at your garden centre if in doubt.

Health Check

Look for firm bulbs with no signs of insect attack on their surface. If possible, plant them straight away!

When it comes to producing color early in the season, you can't beat spring-flowering perennial bulbs. If cared for properly, they'll come back year after year from a single fall planting, providing many blooms for your investment.

For midsummer color, you can plant tender bulbs of tropical perennials such as gladiolas, cannas, and dahlias. You need to dig up these tender bulbs and store them in the fall, then replant them after the danger of frost has passed in the spring. Each year they multiply, so you have even more to plant the next year.

Bulbs have many advantages

• Spring-flowering bulbs are the earliest plants to bloom, with snowdrops and winter aconites flowering in early March in much of New York.
• You can plant a variety of spring-flowering bulbs to flower from very early to late spring, providing a nearly continuous sequence of bloom. Snowdrops and aconites are soon followed by crocuses, scillas, and chionodoxas. Then come hyacinths, daffodils, and tulips. You can plant tender bulbs or other annual flowers to fill in spaces left after the foliage of spring-flowering bulbs dies back to the ground.
• Centuries of breeding have provided many bulbs with exceptionally showy flowers.
• Bulbs are versatile. There is a type for any almost any location. You can make mass plantings in solid beds or plant drifts of bulbs around perennial borders or rock gardens. Bulbs are attractive along paths and walks, around pools, or in front of foundation plantings. Many spring-flowering bulbs can be naturalized in woodlands, fields, or even lawns.

When to Plant

If you want to fill your garden with colour next spring, plant bulbs from October to December, before the first frost. Daffodils, tulips, crocus, grape hyacinths and fritillarias are just some of the plants to choose from.

Where to Plant

Choose bulbs according to location and soil type. Most hardy bulbs originate from the Mediterranean, thriving in a warm, sunny climate in freely draining soil. Good drainage and plenty of sunshine is key, since most bulbs are prone to rot while dormant.

Bulbs in Pots

If you want a great patio display, try growing bulbs in pots. Keep it simple by planting a variety on its own or several of the same variety packed closely together for a bumper show. Several types can be planted together, but it’s tricky to get the flowers to appear at the same time.

• When growing bulbs in a pot, pick a container that is the right size and will complement your chosen bulbs.
• If you are using a clay pot with a large drainage hole in the base, cover it with a piece of broken pot.
• Fill pots with general-purpose compost, mixed with a handful of horticultural grit to improve drainage.
• Water after planting. 

How to Plant

• Bulbs are some of the easiest garden plants to grow, needing only a well-drained soil and some sunshine. As a general rule, plant bulbs two to three times their own depth and around two bulb widths apart.
• It's important to plant bulbs with its top facing upwards. If unsure, plant the bulb on its side.
• Replace the soil after planting, breaking down any large clumps and firm in gently, making sure there are no air spaces around the bulbs.

Bulbs in Lawns

• Naturalise bulbs in lawns by taking a handful and dropping from waist height.
• Plant where they land with a strong trowel or bulb planter - these are ideal for digging into heavy clay soil. To use, push the cylindrical blade down, twist and pull up a plug of soil.
• Drop the bulb in, flattest side down, and crumble the plug into the hole.
• In order to save time, try planting a large number of small bulbs by lifting a piece of turf and planting a group of bulbs in the soil.  

Aftercare

• Bulbs in pots need more care than those in soil.
• Keep the compost moist and protect from frost by wrapping with bubble wrap over winter. Cover with a piece of chicken wire to prevent squirrels, mice and voles from digging them out. Remove it when shoots appear.

Does it matter which end is up?

That's a good question. Although the growing end will find its way up toward the warmth of the sun, it will have an easier time of it if it's planted in the right direction to begin with. Bulbs with pointed ends make it easy for you: the pointed end is the stem and it should be planted upward. Round corms and long tubers are more difficult. There are usually dried roots still attached to these, telling you which end should be planted down. When in doubt, guess - and trust the plant.

Is there any way to keep squirrels and their relatives from eating my bulbs?

There's no fail safe method, but there are a few tricks you can try. First, use a synthetic bulb fertilizer rather than bonemeal; bonemeal is just an invitation to the banquet.

Secondly, you can use a box or cover of hardware cloth or chicken wire as a barrier underground. They sell ready made bulbs cages, but you can also do this yourself. The easiest way to do this is to plant several bulbs in at once, in a wide hole, and cover them with the wire, before burying. Be sure to bend the wire down about an inch on each side, creating a cover over the bulbs.

Unfortunately, neither of these tricks will do you any good once the plants emerge. Deer & rodents will still be drawn to your tulips.

Planting time = 20 minutes!

• Do not plant when soil is very dry, waterlogged or frozen.
• Plant in well dug soils and start by digging to a depth of at least twice their height.
• Most bulbs prefer a well-drained position, so in wet soils, place a 2.5cm-deep layer of sharp sand or grit in the bottom of each planting trench or hole to prevent rotting.
• Some bulbs may not flower properly in dry soil, so improve moisture retention by digging a 3.5cm-deep layer of moist compost at the bottom of each trench or hole.
• Cover the bulbs with loosened soil and then water them in.