GET SWITCHED ON TO BULBS

As the nights draw in it’s time to think about planting bulbs to create a riot of colour in springtime

FAVOURITE Daffodils will brighten up any garden

SIMPLE Just plant in the soil with the shoot facing up

TOUGH Muscari can tolerate poor soil conditions

RELIABLE Blanda are a delight and trouble free

VIVID Crocus bulbs will push up flowers every year

VIBRANT Crocuses always offer a delightful carpet of colour

This week we passed through the Autumn Equinox, that moment in the year when day and night are equal in length, after which the days will start to shorten.

Nature responds in kind, with many plants starting to recede to prepare for a period of dormancy.

As hard as it is to say goodbye to the more opulently colourful time of the garden year, us gardeners welcome late September as a productive and beautiful time. We look forward to the russets, golds and reds that will develop in the foliage of deciduous trees and shrubs while busily preparing the garden for spring.

And while enjoying the garden now and anticipating those seasonal hues we’re planning for next year’s displays.

One top autumn job is planting bulbs and it’s one I always enjoy, pushing those pockets of colour into a warm earth and dreaming of spring displays. Every year I can’t help but be surprised when I see the green shoots emerging, sometimes from a frozen soil.

Planning is key to success with bulbs and this year I took my own advice in spring and photographed the garden when the bulbs were flowering. Now I can see exactly where there are big gaps and

VELVETY Ranunculus