A spring and summer garden is a warm welcome to your home adding to your curb appeal with colour and life! Get your garden going earlier by starting spring bulbs now. This will help you hit the ground running when warm weather settles in.

Not all Bulbs are Created Equal
Certain bulbs require chilling before being planted, so be careful when making your bulb choices.
Bulbs that originate in a cold climate require a certain amount of time in a cold environment before they would be able to begin bloom. This is to simulate the conditions they’d face outside and it “turns on” the enzyme to begin growth. The bulbs need to be chilled 12 weeks or more, but pre-chilled bulbs could be purchased as well. Flowers falling into this category include: crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths and tulips.

Crocus bulbs require chilling before growth

Flowers that originate from hot climates, like amaryllis and paperwhites, would allow you to skip the chilling step, and head right into planting.

Amaryllis bulbs require no chilling

Container
Now that you have your bulbs picked, choosing an appropriate container is your next step. A pot or planter will do the job easily. If putting more than one bulb in each container, you’ll want to spread the bulbs out to give space for each to grow without overcrowding.

If you are looking for something different, egg shells can be used to plant the bulbs. These egg shells could then be planted directly into your garden once the warm weather comes around.

HGTV shows us how to grow bulbs in eggshells

Additionally, as bulbs store all their food themselves, you can even plant your bulbs in rocks to give yourself a different look.

OurBestBites investigates growing bulbs on stones

Care
You’ll want to have a base of soil to put the bulb in with the pointed end facing up. Then put enough dirt in so that the bulb is just covered.
Start the bulbs off with indirect sunlight. Once budded and grown to around 10 cm, move them to direct sunlight. Once bloomed, the sunlight required will depend on the type of flower you chose.

A spot by the window can give your bulbs and plants the needed sunlight

Water thoroughly after planting, and keep the soil moistened throughout the growing process. Once budded, water as needed to ensure health and vitality.

The Spruce discusses growing and watering paper whites

Ideally, you can stagger the start of your bulbs for every week, so you have bulbs at different points in their grow cycle. Doing this correctly can ensure fresh flowers in your home and garden from spring, all the way through to the end of summer.