Come March, we are all desperate for signs of spring, and tulips deliver this with a flourish!
We plant a few thousand in November, and it means we have a good display for PYO by Easter, which is early this year at the end of March.
We only use the bulbs once, which is an expensive way of doing things, but if you leave them in the flowers aren't as good the second year, and it increases the risk of disease. It also means that when harvesting, you can pull gently to get the bulb - this gives you an extra inch or two of stem length, which we like for bouquets.
We grow all colours, and love the doubles, as they are so chunky and full, and hardly look like tulips at all - in fact last year someone thought they were peonies!
It's great to have that injection of colour now, and all the perennials are getting leafier by the day. The annual seeds are up and growing, and the other bulbs, like alliums, are putting on a lot of leaf. It's such an exciting time of year. What is your favourite spring bulb?