The Gardening Mind by Jo Thompson

The Gardening Mind by Jo Thompson

A quick and simple spring bulb arrangement to order now

Plus: squirrel advice, and a reader's request - can you help?

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Jo Thompson
Aug 28, 2025
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A short and sweet plant recipe:

a selection of pretty containers with spring bulbs and flowers in a greenhouse

Whilst I’m STILL strongly advising you to hold off ordering those tulips for a bit longer as you don’t want tulips mouldering till November which is the right time to plant them - and by the way, it honestly doesn’t matter if your ‘favourite’ has sold out as so many tulips look the same, and substitutes are easy - it is definitely All Other Spring Bulb Ordering Time.

It’s also worth thinking about planning some super-easy arrangements that you can admire up close without having to schlep to the bottom of the garden to find in colour in grey months. This simple gathering of the sweetest-smelling spring bulbs and pretty little early flowers requires you just to order two lots of bulbs, and then to pop them into a container as soon as they arrive. Leave them outside, and then when they start to flower in a few months’ time, plonk them all together on a doorstep, windowsill, or table placed where you can see it from the house.

It is honestly as easy as that - the key to success and WOW is choosing beautifully-scented narcissus which grows easily without any fuss.

Put these on your shopping list - this weekend’s post will have the rest of the Spring bulbs to order, along with the Cheat Sheet. BUT DON’T ORDER TULIPS. You’ll waste money. And also, squirrels love them.

Here’s the list, along with my anti-squirrel defence suggestions:

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