When October comes around, I can’t help thinking about spring. Yes, fall is fabulous with its magnificent colour changes and calm days, blue skies and mild temperatures.
But October is the perfect time to plant a mix of beautiful spring-flowering bulbs.
You push them into the ground – it’s the easiest gardening you will ever do – and five months later, you are rewarded with spectacular colour.
Planting bulbs for spring is exactly what I did this week. I got down on my knees and pushed about 150 new bulbs into the garden – alliums, hyacinths, fritillarias, lovely double-flowered narcissus (Golden Ducat and Obdam) and dozens of black tulips.
Am I finished? Hmm, probably not. I am a sucker for miniature daffodils and I can never resist adding more grape hyacinths every autumn.
I also have a soft spot for such tulips as Spring Green and Olympic Flame. If I come across them, I am sure to pick up a bag or two.
If you don’t have a garden, you can always plant a few bulbs in a container.
The key is to protect the pot from getting waterlogged in winter or being frozen solid during a cold spell.
If you can keep the pot in a protected spot, all the better. The rule is to plant bigger bulbs such as daffodils and tulips at the bottom and smaller bulbs such as snowdrops and crocus at the top. If you get the timing right you can have a great flower show from February-March all the way through to May.
