Recommended for your garden in the south of Spain: Autumn bulbs

Now that the summer is drawing to a close and holidays are over, it is a good time to start thinking about what to plant in your terrace, patio or window box ready for the spring. Planting bulbs now will ensure you have lots of colour from early next year.

Bulbs are underground storage containers of energy. Throughout the spring, this energy will be used to produce leaves and flowers. There are two main types of bulbs, those that are planted in autumn, which flower in spring, and those that are planted in spring and which flower during the summer.

Many of them may bloom in consecutive years provided that the energy they have expended is replaced. To ensure blooms the following years, it is best to feed the bulb once it starts flowering and continue fortnightly until the leaves start to turn yellow. Even after no more flowers appear do not cut back the leaves as they will be drawing nutrients into the bulb just as the roots are.

1) Before you buy, give the bulbs a gentle squeeze, they should be firm and not dry or squishy.

2) Choose a sunny spot to plant them, few bulbs do well in shade. If you can, pick a place close to your home so that you can see the flowers when you go in and out, through a window or if you are sat outside.

3) Plant them in a substrate rich in organic matter. It must be free-draining as waterlogging will quickly rot the bulb. To achieve this, mix perlite, vermiculite or coarse sand to the compost.

4) Water moderately. Bulbs are very susceptible to rotting if they are kept too wet so never overwater. Water only when the soil is dry and try not to water directly onto the bulb.

There is a wide variety of bulbs to choose from for spring colour and sometimes scent too. Choose from: hyacinths, Ranunculus, Alliums, Hippeastrums, Narcissus, Crocuses and tulips among others.