I’ve been enjoying the fruits of my labour back in November over the past few weeks. The last of the tulips I planted back then are just perfect at the moment, despite a battering from hail storms earlier in the week. April started incredibly mild and then turned chill with a blast of icy wind from the north.

A last flamboyant display from Tulip ‘Purissima’ which has flowered for a month.

In my garden, I have a clump of creamy white Tulip ‘Purissima’ I planted twenty years ago that still flower reliably each year in mid March. Following on from them, the colour changes to a mix of orange ‘Ballerina’ and sultry ‘Burgundy’ – both tall, lily-flowered types that flower in late April/May.

Lily flowered ‘Ballerina’ with Euphorbia polychroma ‘Midas’ behind.

This year, the mild weather early on has meant that they’re all flowering at the same time. So much for planned colour schemes! I top up each year with a few ‘Ballerina’ and ‘Burgundy’ as they are not as long lived as ‘Purissima’ (Fosteriana type), but generally I seem to do well with tulips that last in the garden. Planting them deep seems to be the key to longevity. A good spade’s depth.

A new favourite, Tulip ‘Merlot’, forms part of a new border with Pittosporum ‘Tom Thumb’.

Another reliable tulip for me is deep crimson-red ‘Coleur Cardinal’ (Triumph type), with its distinctive darker flame marking running up the outer petal. I’ve used this one in planting schemes of some new gardens I was working on last year where I’m pleased to say my clients liked the idea of adding bulbs.

Tulip ‘Coleur Cardinal’ adds a blast of colour to a border with Euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’.

Bulbs add another dimension to a garden and are often overlooked in new schemes where structural shrubs make a solid impact and perennial flowers are expected come high summer. They shouldn’t be an afterthought, but an essential ingredient in the garden mix.