September and October are the best times to get outside and plant your flower bulbs like colorful tulips, cheery daffodils, crocus, alliums, and spectacular Grape hyacinths in most parts of the country.
Although you can still plant in November and even into December, the ground is harder to work the colder it gets besides inserting a stored bulb that can weaken or die the longer it remains away from the soil.
Stored bulbs from last year should have been kept in a cool, dry, dark place like your basement. A place with too much moisture would have ruined them.
Before you begin, you might want to check on the condition of your bulbs. Healthy ones should be firm when touched and free of mold or any leaves growing from them besides any decay. The longer you wait to plant those bulbs, the higher your risk for those bulbs to become diseased.
After you loosen the soil with a trowel, you need to be sure to stick the pointed end of the bulb up before covering with dirt. If you find the point is hard to see on your bulb, then look for remains of the roots and plant that end down.
Naturalizing bulbs, which bloom year after year, should be grown where they receive lots of sunlight so they can thrive over time.
Another good thing to remember to help naturalizing bulbs do their best in your yard is to feed them bulb fertilizer at planting. You don't have to put any fertilizer on the non-naturalizing bulbs because their lifespan ends once they finish blooming.
Something I found striking was to plant small groups of bulbs among your perennials, shrubs, or rock borders for bright accents to wake up your garden or yard.
A wonderful suggestion that I have is to intermingle planting of flowers, such as vibrant purple Pansies now, (anything that can survive winter) so they'll bloom alongside your bulbs in an attractive color combination.
Though not a flower bulb, garlic bulbs should be planted now also. I am going to put in some delicious purple garlic that I bought off of a farmer from a visit to the flea market. I was told that garlic needs to go in by the middle of October.
As you all know, I use garlic all the time in my cooking and as a natural antibiotic when eaten raw.
Something else to consider about planting garlic is that the animals seem to leave it alone during their garden raids, which may help in your decision to put some in.
