Buried Treasures

Our gardening columnist Conrad McCormick offers his expert advice on planting spring bulbs.

- Conrad McCormick

When the evenings are closing in and the weather begins to take a turn for the worse in autumn, I get to thinking about planting spring bulbs. I see them as an investment in the future, helping to remind me that spring isn’t so far away and brighter longer days lie ahead. With a bit of forward planning, it’s easy to ensure a succession of blooms from January or February right through until May.

SNOWDROPS

Snowdrops are one of the first flowers to put in an appearance early in the year. Their delicate looking nodding white bells belie their tough constitution. Unperturbed by icy winter winds and frost, their green snouts push through the soil surface by new Year and, depending on the type, can be in bloom within weeks. There are many named forms that can fetch eye-watering sums of money as fanatics search out subtle differences in their green markings. For me though, the common snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis is as beautiful as any, especially when creating carpets of white blooms in borders or when established in short grass. If you know someone with established clumps in their garden now’s the perfect time to subtly suggest that theirs may need splitting and that you’d be only too happy to take some off their hands. replant immediately in clumps of at least three or five in a spot where they’ll be shaded by other plants in summer.

CYCLAMEN COUM