Giving your garden a boost of colour can be so easy, quick and cost effective!

Now is the time to plant bulbs and it is worth the small amount of effort that it takes, when in the late Winter and Spring there are bursts of life with warming yellows from daffodils and brightness from tulips and in summer the elegance and beauty of alliums, lillies and crocosmia

Bulbs are fabulous for adding colour to spring borders. Tulips come in a huge variety of shades, from dark and stormy dark purple to crisp and elegant white, and brilliantly, they bloom at a time of year when many plants offer muted colours or nothing at all!

Always keen to start bringing the garden back to life as soon as possible after winter bulbs such as snowdrops and scillas, are some of the earliest flowering plants in the garden and brighten up the short days of very early spring.

Drama in borders is created with summer-flowering bulbs such as lilies and gladioli  and the feel of summer is extended with late colourful displays from crocosmia and nerines.

• September planting: Spring-flowering bulbs, such as daffodils, crocus and hyacinths and summer-flowering bulbs, such as lilies, alliums and crocosmia
• October planting: Summer-flowering bulbs, such as lilies, alliums and crocosmia
• November planting: Tulips
• Plant hardy summer-flowering bulbs, such as lilies, alliums and crocosmia, in September and October

We love to plant with authority, giving impressive displays in borders so plant in groups of at least 6 and make sure you plant at least 25 – 50 bulbs to give that impact and wow factor.

Give bulbs the best chance to look great by planting in a war, sunny location with good drainage and it is always best to plant them as soon as possible once you have bought them!

Planting bulbs pretty straight forward!

The hole should be wide and deep enough for your bulbs, most bulbs like to be planted at two to three times their depth

Place the bulbs in the hole with their ‘nose’, or shoot, facing upwards. Space them at least twice the bulb’s own width apart

Replace the soil and gently firm with the back of a rake. Avoid treading on the soil as this can damage the bulbs

If the ground is moist or the bulbs are autumn-planted, watering is not critical. Otherwise water straight after planting

Your work is then done, this small investment in the garden will provide an abundance of pleasure fir the forthcoming year!