USING BULBS IN THE GARDEN

1. Use white-flowering bulbs to light up dark corners of the garden, especially in spring when the sun is still low.

2. If you love late-flowering tulips, put them in pots dotted around your garden. This is because by the time they flower, at a mere 40cm tall, they will simply disappear among everything else in your borders.

3. In a small garden, be mindful that you don’t overdo it by planting lots of bulbs. It may be better to opt instead for attractive, moveable containers here and there. Add (evergreen) grasses such as Carex for a mini-meadow effect or evergreen ferns and other woodland plants to create a mini-woodland meadow. 4. Consider the shapes and colours of the leaves of surrounding perennials when selecting your bulbs. Dark tulips are great with Geum, Persicaria, Thalictrum and Geranium cultivars, especially the early flowering Geranium phaeum. Elegant Polygonatum and Lunaria rediviva are also perfect companions for tulips. 5. Some bulbs are true shade-lovers. Erythronium, for instance, is perfect if you want to introduce a flash of colour in a difficult spot.