Join Julianne Robertson as she looks ahead to spring and picks out some brilliant garden bulbs.

Tired of tulips? Crocuses leaving you cold? Done with the same old daffodils? With a little preparation now you can reinvent your garden come spring, writes Julianne Robertson

It’s that time of year again – time for gardeners to down tools, take a break from raking leaves and put the kettle on… to think about spring. As the leaves fall along with the temperature, a cosy afternoon spent with a cup of tea and the latest bulb catalogue is a pleasurable way to plan ahead. Buying and planting bulbs to flower in spring is best done from September to November, so a little bit of preparation now, as the garden settles down to sleep, will ensure early flowers and bright colour in your garden as soon as it begins to wake up again in February right through until summer.

But are you a bit tired of seeing the same old daffodils, tulips and crocuses each year? Perhaps it’s time to try something new to make you fall in love with your spring garden all over again. If you feel your plot is becoming predictable, why not ring the changes and introduce some bulbs which are less commonly grown in gardens but which make a wonderful display in pots or in borders and can provide valuable early colour during the dark days of late winter and early spring.

Brilliant bulbs

If you want to explore some new varieties, here are some easy-to-grow bulbs you can plant now:

• Chionodoxa – also known as Glory of the Snow, has pretty, star-shaped flowers in a bright blue which will cut through the gloom of winter as early as February until March. These bulbs suit most soils and can be grown in full sun or part shade. They make a great topper for a “bulb lasagne” – containers made with layers of bulbs which flower consecutively.

• Fritillaries – the remarkable snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) is so called because of its chequered pattern, which resembles a reptile’s scaly skin. This little flower pops up in shady areas each year in May, with its delightful purple or white nodding heads, and will naturalise (self seed) in your border or grass. For something at the other end of the scale, how about its relative, the Crown Imperial (Fritillaria imperialis). This is a real show-stopper of a flower, with its tall, sturdy stems holding a crown of red-orange flowers. There’s no other spring bulb for the wow factor, although they do need a little more care, preferring a warm, sunny position and deep, well-drained soil where they can be undisturbed.

• Erythronium or dog’s tooth violet – another star of the shady, woodland border, these nodding creamy yellow flowers with lush green leaves do a great job of brightening up bare ground beneath shrubs and trees. There’s also a pink variety called Rose Queen.

• Alliums – these purple globes can provide fantastic structure to a mixed border and a few varieties will bloom in late spring. Bees absolutely love them. Varieties inclined to flower early include Early Emperor, Purple Rain and the drumstick-shaped Allium sphaerocephalon. If purple’s not your thing, try the more compact Allium moly (yellow garlic) with its nodding bells of bright yellow flowers, or the pretty delicate pink of Allium roseum (rosy-flowered garlic).

Different Daffodils

If you’re determined to stick with the much-loved daffodil, that stalwart of the springtime, it might be worth exploring a few new varieties, as they really do come in all shapes and sizes. Try Narcissus Elka – a classic daffodil shape, in a beautiful soft cream colour, and lightly scented. It flowers earlier than some daffodils (late February) and is great for pots and containers, or the front of a flower bed. For a different shade, there’s the cutely named Pink Smiles, which bears a soft pink trumpet on white petals. Minnow is a tiny little yellow flower, which is also scented and works well in containers or the garden. For something even more unusual there’s Narcissus Rip van Winkle, which is a dwarf daffodil with delicately cut petals which seem to have exploded outwards from the stalk. This one also flowers early (February-March) and makes a lovely cut flower.

Where to buy?

Glendoick Garden Centre (glendoick.com) off the A90 between Dundee and Perth has a great stock of bulbs each year, or try Fife family business bulbs4u which sells online at (bulbs4u.co.uk) as well as appearing at local horticultural shows and plant fairs. Online retailers Thompson & Morgan (thompsonmorgan.com) and Sarah Raven (sarahraven.com) also have an extensive choice of bulbs to order.

If you’re seeking something really unique, make a date in your diary for April next year to visit Backhouse Rossie Estate by Collessie in Fife, which houses a collection of heritage daffodils. Last year they launched Scotland’s first daffodil festival, featuring more than 80 different varieties as well as many other spring flowers.

Whichever bulbs you decide to plant for next year, whether they’re old favourites or new flavours, the rules of planting them are really pretty simple – plant to twice their depth and make sure the pointy end is facing up. Bulbs are great value – spending just a few pounds on 10 or 20 bulbs of any variety gives us a much-needed hit of colour when we need it most and many of these will return faithfully each year, ensuring we fall in love with our spring garden over and over again.

Garlic

It’s also time to plant the kind of bulbs you can eat – garlic! Garlic benefits from a period of chilling, so is best planted in autumn or early winter. Don’t use the bulbs you get at the supermarket, they can carry disease or they may not be suited to the climate. Hardneck varieties are generally hardier so try Chesnock White, which is good for making garlic bread. The Scottish-based Really Garlicky Company recommends planting Doocot, which develops plump cloves with an intense but sweet flavour. Or try the fantastic Elephant garlic, which develops into one large clove with a warm, mild flavour which can be baked or roasted whole.

● Jullianne Robertson is a gardening and lifestyle writer and blogger based in the east of Scotland.

●Blog: mycorneroftheearth.wordpress.com