Colour bombs

Enjoy a non-stop display of bright, bold colour next year by planting your spring bulbs now, says Hazel Sillver, as she describes the best for autumn planting

- Hazel Sillver

YOU can ensure that your spring garden is a joyous show of colour early next year by getting the brightest, boldest bulbs in the ground now. From fiery fritillaries to scarlet anemones and magenta tulips, each bulb is akin to a bomb of colour that will explode with vibrant flowers in a few months’ time.

Gardener and bulb specialist Sarah Raven names tulips as her favourite bulbs for vivid colour in spring. “Tulips are the most sophisticated, high-glamour flowers of all, with a flamboyance and chic that no other plant can match,” she says. “They have such a wide selection of colours and styles, from rich velvet-reds and purples to brilliant pinks and oranges that will light up your garden. Autumn bulb planting is one of the main opportunities gardeners have to create our own style, to plot a great parade of colour and contrast that will keep going for months next spring.”

Non-stop display

To ensure a non-stop display of uplifting colour throughout the season, plant a mix of bulbs that bloom at different times. For instance, purple crocuses and azure scillas first, followed by sun-yellow daffodils and beetroot-red hyacinths, then cobalt muscari and tulips in every colour, finishing with rich-mauve alliums and hot-pink gladioli to sizzle in May.

In pots, this succession of flowering is done in layers and is referred to as ‘lasagne planting’. For example, Mayflowering alliums at the bottom, April daffodils in the middle and March crocuses on the top. Alternatively, a simple duo of an early flowering tulip (such as ‘Orange Emperor’) on top of a late-flowering tulip (such as ‘West Point’) gives a great continuation of colour.