Bulb potting

One of the most exciting jobs in the autumn is planting and potting the new seasons bulbs, but it is one of those jobs that you have to resist doing immediately if the weather is dry needs must and you have to go out and do jobs like leaf raking. So we wait for it to rain I prefer to pot most of my bulbs as I use a lot of them in containers for their first season then having had a good look at them I can then decide where to put them in the garden borders for future displays.

This year I have been asked to force a large batch of Hyacinths for our Christmas craft fair on December 5th and 6th. So we made sure we got our order in very early to get the bulbs in for the first week of September. The potted bulbs were put in the dark for about 6 weeks, then brought up onto the benches to develop the flower shoots its been a bit touch and go and I did put some of them back outside to hold them back a bit however I think they are going to be okay.


There was more excitement a few days ago when the terracotta bowls arrived to pot the hyacinths on into. As the bowls on their own was a fairly small order I was able to get hold of some new large planters for summer displays next year and also some very elegant pots for the herbs that we keep on the tea room terrace. 3 bulbs of a single colour went into each bowl. Now all the Hyacinths need is to be dressed with a topping of moss, then its about three weeks in a well lit room not too close to any radiators and they should be in flower for the festive season.

If you get a chance to come along to the fair it would be great to see a few of you out in the garden weather permitting of course.