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October is the perfect time to dig in the soil to provide yourself with an abundance of color in the spring. With a little planning and a little digging, you can be guaranteed a lovely spring display in your garden of crocus, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, irises, and allium.
The first step in the process is to buy good quality bulbs. Look for bulbs that are firm (mushy is a big no-no!) and free from any mold or signs of disease. When buying bulbs look for little or no root growth and store those bulbs in a mesh or paper bag in a cool location until ready to plant. You want to plant them the season they are purchased.
Your bulbs will be happiest and perform the best in an area in your garden that gets six hours of sunlight and has good drainage. Once you’ve found the location it’s time to get digging! One method is to plant in layers by digging out the area to the deepest depth your bulbs require, placing the bulbs that need to be planted at this depth on the bottom, then covering them with a layer of soil and compost to bring the ground level up to the depth your next variety of bulbs requires. Plant those bulbs at that layer, then repeat the process until all your bulbs are planted. Don’t worry about planting the bulbs on top of one another, as they grow their roots and leaves will seek open space to grow through. You can also plant bulbs individually, digging one hole at a time.
No matter what your planting method be sure to plant the bulbs pointy end up and roots down, cover with soil and mulch, and give them a good drink of water. Sit back, watch the leaves and snow fall. On the first day the temperatures are above freezing, run out to your garden to look for those beautiful green leaf tips poking through the ground, proving you survived another winter and that brighter, colorful days are just a bloom away.
