“Where flowers bloom, so does hope.” — Lady Bird Johnson

We associate planting and gardening with spring, but what you do now in your landscape can make springtime all the more enjoyable. As the snow melts and recedes, the bulbs we plant in the fall emerge to delight you!

Bulbs can successfully be planted now in late September and into October. The ground can still be worked and the bulbs will have time to become well-rooted before the ground freezes.

Choose a sunny site with adequate drainage. Plant bulbs according to the spacing and depth suggested, or four times the height of the bulb, and plant them pointed side up with the roots facing down in the hole. Mulch the bed to maintain consistent temperature and to prevent the freeze/thaw cycles that might push the bulb out of the ground.

Information in greater detail is available at planttalk.colostate.edu. Click on ‘Topics’ and drop down to ‘Fall Gardening’ to find tips on bed preparation, maintenance, selecting bulbs and fertilizing. This is a website to bookmark and return to often for all your gardening questions.

What is available to plant in this area? Well, there are bulbs for spring blooming, bulbs for fall blooming and bulbs to force.

Tulips, daffodils, alliums crocuses, iris, muscari and hyacinth are all pretty plants to usher in spring. If bulbs that bloom in the fall are desired, consider colchicum (autumn crocus). They send their leaves up in the spring, and their flowers, which may take you by surprise, bloom in the fall. Bulbs for forcing remind us of the holidays — amaryllis and paperwhites. Forcing can be done with soil and temperature control or in the case of paperwhites, a tray of water and pebbles.

Deer in your neighborhood? Resist planting a smorgasbord of tulips for browsing animals. Plant daffodils. Plant alliums, Plant hyacinths. News flash: Moose love tulips too and will eat them down to the ground.

This column was prepared to coincide with the Yampa River Botanic Park’s 4^th Annual Bulb Benefit to be held Oct. 3 and 4. Come see the amazing array of bulbs, including garlic and shallots. Oct. 3, members can shop 10 a.m.-noon — become a member at yrbp.org. The public is invited to shop noon-2 p.m., and the benefit is open to the public Oct. 4 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Master gardeners and Botanic Park staff will be on hand to answer questions.

Todd Hagenbuch is the director and agriculture agent for Routt County Extension.