For everything there is a season, and fall is the season for bulb planting. Our garden shop is full, floor to ceiling, with bins, bags and boxes of every spring-blooming bulb imaginable. We’re not talking tiny off-shoots that you get through the mail and other places. These are large, fertile bulbs, all set to grace your yard with vibrant bursts of color next spring.

Through the grays of November, the blinding white of winter snows and the endless slug of mud season, we mentally trudge dreaming of color. Color comes in a rainbow of shades and an assortment of shapes from the ‘Delft Blue’ hyacinths, ‘Queen of Night’ tulips and sunny yellow daffodils.

There is no limit to the planting configurations. In the Netherlands, they are often planted in layers. Tall narcissus or tulips go 8” deep, then 3 inches of soil and a layer of dwarf narcissus, muscari or crocus, then more soil. The effect is lovely.

At the nursery, we plant them every which way. Rock garden narcissus (‘Tete-a-Tete’, ‘Jacksnipe’ and ‘Jetfire’) are appropriately in the rock garden. Species tulips (‘Scarlet Baby’, ‘Red Riding Hood’ and ‘Cape Cod’) and several clumps of crocus bloom in our sunny perennial gardens. In keeping with our “yellow theme” the entry gardens are filled with clumps of ‘King Alfred’ daffodils. These clumps wander down the drive, leading into the nursery, eventually giving way to masses of naturalized scilla. A planting of tulips along the greenhouse will inspire any gardener — novice or seasoned. Down the center of the 40 foot by 4 foot bed are planted 27 varieties of tall tulips timed to bloom in early to mid May. Each clump consists of a dozen bulbs. Nature’s paint box!

When you come to buy bulbs, talk to one of our gardeners about all the planting possibilities. For big projects, we offer daffodils and tulips in bulk. ‘Dutch Master’ daffodils, ‘King Alfred’, ‘Magnet’, ‘Mount Hood’ and a naturalizing mix are packed in sacks of 250 bulbs. Darwin hybrid tulips are packed in crates of 250. Colors are red, yellow, pink and white. Their tall stems and large flower cups make them an exceptional choice for mass planting. You do not have to buy the whole sack or crate!

Often people complain that their tulips diminish rather than flourish over the years. This is true of some newer hybrids. So, if longevity is your goal, select the Darwin hybrids and the ‘botanical’ tulips (‘Kaufmanniana’, ‘Heart’s Delight’, ‘Scarlet Baby’ and ‘Fashion’). Be sure you dig the hole 3 times as deep as the bulb’s diameter. After covering with soil, top dress with a specific bulb fertilizer such as ‘Bulb Booster’. After the tulip flowers, snip the seed pod, but leave the foliage until it yellows and pulls out easily.

The other option is to stick with daffodils and narcissus. The assortment is vast and varied. Varieties such as ‘Rip Van Winkle’, ‘Full House’, Cassatta’, ‘Lemon Beauty’, ‘Acteae’, ‘Triandus Hawera’ and ‘Golden Bell’ would be fun to try. (The boxes have colored photos so you can see what you’re choosing.)

If you want spectacular spring bouquets, then you really need to plant some of the single, late tulips, the peony-flowered, fringed, lily-flowered and parrot tulips. There is nothing in cultivation that can match their beauty.