ENJOY THE WARM-UP ACTS

Aconites, crocus and daffodils are among the best of the early blooms

YOU can feel the garden starting to come back to life. Snowdrops might steal centre stage, but they are not the only stars of the show. There are many other early flowering bulbs clamouring for attention. Although it’s too late to plant them for this season, make a note to buy them for next year’s display.

By bulbs, I also mean corms, rhizomes, and tubers. They are all swollen sections of the plant forming food storage organs that allow it to survive even when not in growth.

GOLDEN DREAM

WINTER aconite ( Eranthis hyemalis) is one of the earliest, bearing cup-like golden flowers on ruffs of green bracts. They prefer moist but well- drained soil and are happy in sun or partial shade.

Although they can be planted in autumn from dry tubers, they have a better chance if planted in the green, just after flowering.

Iris reticulata differ from the big blowsy irises that come out later in the year; these are modest beauties in pretty shades of violet and blue. Miniature irises prefer a sunny, sheltered position on alkaline or chalk soil and grow to about 15cm in height. one of my favourites, Clairette, has pale blue flowers with darker tips.

RELIABLE BULBS

CROCUSES are perennials, coming up again year after year. This year I am growing pure white Jeanne d’Arc, which looks best planted in drifts in a lawn. Corms should be put in about 10cm deep in September or october.

Crocus tommasinianus also works well naturalised, with slender lilac blooms.

Chionodoxa forbesii is commonly known as Glory of the Snow, giving a hint as to when its clusters of blue starry flowers appear. It doesn’t mind sun or partial shade. There is also a pale pink variety called rose Queen.

A little later come the snake’s head fritillaries, so called for their chequered purple blooms. They used to be common in Britain. Children would pick them from meadows beside the river Thames and take them to sell at Covent Garden flower market for a few pennies. These days, however, they are classed as vulnerable. They can grow up to 30cm high and prefer a moist position in fertile soil.

FIRST TO RISE

DAFFoDILS are usually associated with spring, but of the early-flowering varieties which brighten up the garden in late winter, the cheerful yellowflowered February Gold is perhaps the best known. Tête-àtête is a pretty dwarf narcissus which comes out around now and grows to 15cm high. And just like her namesake, cream-coloured Narcissus bulbocodium Mary Poppins brings a touch of magic to the winter garden, flowering into spring.