Guide to garden bulbs

Read on to discover the best bulbs to buy now and throughout autumn to fill your garden with colour next spring

Alliums

Alliums are ideal plants for late-spring colour in borders. May is the peak time for most alliums, when there is already plenty of interest in the borders to complement their neat purple globes rising on tall stems. They are best planted where other foliage can cover the fading leaves, either direct into the soil or in pots that are plunged for the season.

Daffodils Whether using large or small varieties, there are many opportunities of brightening a spring garden with daffodils. Early-flowering dwarf forms can be planted in window boxes or other containers around the garden – especially as an underplanting to evergreens. They sit well between deciduous shrubs or tucked between later-flowering perennials. Larger forms can be planted under trees or large shrubs, or naturalised in longer grass. Space bulbs close together for clusters below trees, or scatter them to look like they have grown naturally, in long grass for instance.

Dwarf iris The short, bulbous varieties of iris provide early colour in pots or rockeries. They associate well in containers with other small bulbs, such as crocus and dwarf daffodils, or teamed alongside spring-bedding plants like pansies or bright polyanthus. These bulbs require a sunny site and well-drained soil so they are ideally suited to rockeries where they won’t be swamped by spring alpines.

Fritillary (snakeshead) The snakeshead fritillary grows well in soil that stays moist through the summer so if you have the space plant them in a meadow garden. The nodding bells with their distinctive checkerboard petals appear in April and will sit above primroses in the long grass. They can also be planted in borders in light shade or in containers with other delicate spring flowers, but ensure the compost is always moist, especially on sunny days.

Spring-flowering crocus

Spring-flowering crocus are ideal for early colour in pots or rockeries.

Lilies Flamboyant blooms and heady fragrance make lilies a must for summer. They can be planted direct, if the soil is well drained, or planted in pots that are then plunged into the border to fill any summer gaps. Taller forms may need staking. Lilies also make ideal fragrant plants for the patio if they are planted into deep pots in compost with good drainage. They can then be moved into view when they are at their most dazzling.

Tulips With a huge variety of colours and flower types there are tulips to suit all styles of garden from cottage to formal. They prefer a well-drained soil and a spell of summer heat to ensure flowering the following spring, so plant in full sun for years of colour. If your garden conditions don’t suit, treat them as annuals in borders, or in pots. Discard after flowering and order new bulbs each autumn.