News, special buys and things to do at home and in the garden over the next few months

74 Plant pick

Seasonal stars

Gift yourself a spring surprise of beautiful blooms by planting some bulbs in autumn

Tip

When storing bulbs in the fridge, be sure to label them to avoid them being mixed up with your veges!

Anemone Great value for money, anemones have an exceptionally long flowering season (from late winter through to late spring), come in a range of beautiful colours and have a long vase life. To break dormancy and encourage germination and good flower production, place bulbs in the fridge for six weeks prior to planting.

Freesia A quintessential spring bulb, freesias are one of the most valued for scent. They naturalise well and can be grown in full sun or partial shade. Plant in well-worked, free-draining soil 5-6cm deep and 8-10cm apart. In cooler areas, protect from frost.

Ranunculus One of the best cut flowers, with multi-petalled blooms in a variety of colours including white, red, pink, yellow and orange. It looks fabulous planted as a clumped mix in pots or flowerbeds – for this reason, you will often find them sold as a mixed collection. They can grow 40-60cm tall, but dwarf specimens only reach about 20cm.

Crocus Flowers in mauve, lavender and yellow appear on short stems from as early as midwinter. Plant in sun – under deciduous trees is fine as their stems will still be bare when the plants are in bloom. Crocuses are not fussy about soil type but it must be free-draining. Water regularly when in flower.

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Anemone

(Anemone coronaria) Plant in full sun in free-draining soil. Feed regularly and your plant could produce up to 20 flowers per bulb.

Ranunculus

(Ranunculus asiaticus) Plant in full sun and feed regularly during the growing season. Cut flowers usually last a week or two.

Freesia

(Freesia x hybrida) Pick stems for the vase when the first bud has opened – they can last for up to 10 days as the florets continue to open.

Crocus

(Crocus spp.) These bowl-shaped beauties are one of the first flowers of spring. They are low-growing perennials, ideal for pots.