Fall/winter

¢ Dig up a photo of your spring garden to pinpoint places where you can plant bulbs.

¢ Spring bulbs need good drainage and sun. Placing sharp gravel in the bottom of the planting holes will help keep moisture from collecting around the bulb and rotting it – plus it will deter moles and voles.

¢ Never plant bulbs under a gutter spout.

¢ Plant bulbs after the first hard frost and don’t winter mulch until the ground is sufficiently frozen.

¢ Feed new bulbs with a 10-10-10 fertilizer as you are planting; scratch the fertilizer into the top 2 inches of soil.

Spring

¢ Remove all but 2 inches of the winter mulch from your bulbs.

¢ Rabbits love tulip leaves, especially ones that are just sprouting. Try mixing 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of a mild dish soap into a quart of water and spray the foliage. Reapply after rain storms.

¢ Enjoy the colorful show!

Summer

¢ Time to cut the flower stems and seed heads, but let the leaves be. They’re nourishing the bulbs, giving them strength for next year.

¢ Try marking the areas with a little something to indicate that bulbs are planted there so you don’t inadvertently dig them up.

¢ Hostas are a good companion plant with bulbs because they don’t require much water either, and their large leaves can camouflage the uglier leaves of the fading bulb.