Planting Bulbs

Planting tulip bulbs and crocuses in the fall is a labor that results in a beautiful garden display in the early weeks of spring. You can plant crocuses on top of your tulips that will all bloom at different periods of the season. You’ll have new sights for six to eight weeks to admire from your kitchen window. Laying your bulbs within the soil in a particular pattern can be a fun way to be creative with your landscape. Any design can be created that will flourish in the coming season. It just takes a little preparation.

Materials/Tools Needed
-    Various types of tulip bulbs (early flowering, mid-season, late season)
-    A shovel
-    Crocus bulbs(as many as desired)
-    A bag of bulb booster fertilizer
-    Some chicken wire
-    Several anchoring pins

Step 1
Sowing the Bulbs Excavate 6 inches of soil from your garden. Loosen the soil at the bottom of your bed for a place to carefully set your bulbs.
Sprinkle roughly a tablespoon of fertilizer per square foot over the bed. A fertilizer that has a high middle number is preferred for this type of planting. The middle number in rating fertilizers refers to its ability to nurture root growth.
Place your bulbs in the soil keeping in mind that the tulip will grow away from the flat side of the bulb. This is important because you don’t want the tulips growing towards each other in a crowded bunch but rather growing away from each other creating a colorful fan. Knowledge of the characteristics of your tulips will aid in laying down a design that will flourish in the time you desire. 
Carefully sift soil over the bulbs to make sure they are not disrupted from their positions. After an inch has been sifted and the bulbs are set, shovel 3 more inches of topsoil in preparation for the second bed of crocuses.
Step 2
Laying Down the Crocuses In the same manner as with the tulip bed, loosen the soil and apply one tablespoon of fertilizer per square foot. Place the crocuses in the bed in any pattern that is desired. Again sift the soil over your bed until it is up to grade.

Step 3
Keeping Out the Vermin Place a piece of chicken wire over the ground before you lay down the mulch and sink anchoring pins over its borders so it is flush with the landscape. The reason for this is to keep squirrels from burrowing and devouring the tulip bulbs which they apparently find quite delicious.

If the squirrels don’t feast on your work and the bulbs are all properly placed, you should have a terrific, vibrant display you can be proud of in those early spring months when everything is popping up all over the place. It’s a dynamic spectacle that’ll become the focal point of any garden. Tulips and crocuses declare that spring is finally here and your efforts in the fall will reward with that visual treat.