IN YOUR POTS

BENEFITS

If you have limited space for a garden – such as a balcony, deck or a courtyard – or if the spring sunshine doesn’t fall on your garden bed, planting your bulbs in pots or containers is the solution. This also gives you the advantage of being able to move them around to follow the movement of the sun or, with small pots, bringing them inside temporarily when you have guests. While you can mix your planting with different types of bulbs as you would in a garden bed, it’s better to have one type of bulb per container. Flowering times differ for different bulbs and, because the space is small, your arrangement can end up looking straggly. And the mass of intense colour is one of the brilliant things about spring-flowering bulbs. But you can break the spacing rule that applies to garden beds by planting the bulbs a bit closer together to convey the message that small is mighty.

GROWING MEDIUM

Use good-quality potting mix not garden soil, which is not only heavy (and hard on you when moving your pot into the sunshine), but can also dry out and become hard, making water penetration difficult.

CARE

escape. Make sure your container has adequate drainage holes, as bulbs will rot if water hangs around for too long. Potting mix comes with a finite supply of nutrients that the bulbs gobble up, especially once the flowering commences. You can top up the nutrients with liquid fertiliser, but it’s best to change your mix every season. During flowering, ensure the mix is moist, but not sodden.

WHERE TO PLANT

Put a frill into a formal garden White potted tulips brighten up the clipped ivy and balled box. g0 for days of glory Splashes of fiery pink, orange and purple put greenery in the shade.

Don’t use black plastic pots or other dark containers that can absorb heat – such as metal – as bulbs want soil that is cool. Best are large containers in light-coloured plastic or, better still, terracotta, which allows excess moisture to Create a welcome at your front door, fill a sunny corner in your courtyard or on your deck, or dot a window box with bulbs so you can appreciate the blooms from indoors. The only rule is that the plants gets access to warm sunshine. After perfection? You can’t go past the tulip’s petals for almost perfect symmetry!