The easy answer to next year’s spring show

A garden without spring bulbs is somehow a cheerless place; forget-me-nots and wallflowers definitely need a few bulbs bobbing above them and it really is the easiest way to inject some early colour into containers and borders. Planting bulbs is an act of faith, of believing that spring will return - sorry that does sound rather tragic, but as the days get colder and darker it’s comforting to know that once planted, they’ll sit safely under the ground; stems, flowers and leaves neatly compressed into tight packages, waiting for the spring like small, flowery time bombs. So before you hang up your trowel and come inside for the winter, plant some bulbs and by the spring you’ll be pleased that you did. You still have time to plant them - in fact November is the best time to plant tulips - I've even planted them in January before now.