Plant spring bulbs now for a six-week display

Planting bulbs in layers — a technique often called a bulb lasagne — gives you six weeks or more of colour from a single pot or patch of border. It’s simple, satisfying and best done in autumn.

Build the layers

Start with the largest, latest-flowering bulbs deepest: tulips about 20 cm down. Add a layer of compost, then mid-season daffodils. Finish near the surface with small early bulbs like crocus, iris reticulata or muscari.

Choose a colour story

Pick two or three colours that work together, such as deep purple, white and soft yellow, so the display flows as each layer takes over. Plant generously: bulbs look best in dense drifts, not single rows.

Aftercare

Keep pots watered through dry spells in spring and let foliage die back naturally after flowering so the bulbs can feed for next year. A top-dressing of slow-release fertiliser in March keeps them performing.