Bulbs are amazing little packages containing almost everything they need for a fabulous spring display – all you need to do is get planting, says Alan Titchmarsh
You want fail-safe gardening? Plant bulbs. All the work has been done for you by the grower and everything is packed into a neat little parcel to which you add water and stand well back. Well… almost.
Provided spring-flowering bulbs are planted in decent soil – not too wet and not too dry – and given a generous amount of light, they can usually be relied on to come up year after year. In pots you can use them as annuals if you are so inclined – planting them out in the garden after flowering, or giving them away to a friend if you don’t have the space and want to grow something different each year. Either way, now is the perfect time to plant bulbs to make sure of a bright and flower-filled spring.
Starting with snowdrops in February (though these are really best planted ‘in the green’ as their flowers are fading to make sure the bulbs do not dry out), and then moving on to crocuses and daffodils, followed by tulips, alliums, camassias and a host of other bright beauties you will be assured of garden brilliance in pots or in beds and borders right through until May. How can you resist?
Buy your bulbs from a specialist supplier and you will generally be on safe ground. Shop around and you will find that some growers offer great value for money. If you are buying from a garden centre choose bulbs that are fat, firm and showing no signs of softness or rot. Generally, the bigger the bulb for the variety, the greater is its flowering potential. Single varieties create more impact than mixtures, unless you are a cottage garden devotee.
Plan your planting
Work out where you are going to plant them before you purchase. Bulbs such as Dutch irises can be sneaked in among border perennials. Crocuses will fit into gaps at the front of a border. Daffodils are best planted in groups of ten or more and so will need a bit more space, though the miniature varieties such as ‘Jenny’, ‘Tête à Tête’ and ‘Jetfire’ are great for the front of a border and are reliably perennial. I love the dainty Anemone blanda at the front of beds and borders but so, too, do the wood pigeons. I now grow them in shallow pots that can be protected from these marauding birds.
Tulips vary in their ability to flower every year when planted in the garden. Some, such as ‘Spring Green’ are good doers and with others you will notice a falling off of flo
