There is nothing that brightens my spirits more at the end of a dreary winter than seeing the first flower. That small burst of needed color never ceases to bring an exclamation of joy and a sigh of relief that spring is on the way.

It may seem odd that, as I sit here in my summer shorts, surrounded by summer flowers in the garden, I am writing about winter flowers. But gardeners always need to be thinking and planning ahead for that next season of color—even if it is six months away! Fall is the time to plan, purchase, and plant your bulb garden for winter/spring enjoyment.

The first flowers to appear may be short but they are tall on beauty, and their small bulb size makes them inexpensive to purchase and easy to plant. These groups of short flowering bulbs make the biggest show when planted in large quantities. Don’t be shy – buy hundreds. They are easy to plant. Just dig a hole and set them in. The pointy side is usually the top, but some are not as obvious, so if you’re not sure, just plant them on their sides. You only need to bury them a few inches deep, which also makes it easy to plant them in an established perennial garden without disturbing established plant roots.

One of the very earliest flowers to appear is the Snowdrop (Galanthus). This nodding white bell-shaped flower is surely a welcome sight. Another extra early one and not as commonly seen, is the bright yellow Winter Aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), that looks like a tiny daisy. I have enjoyed this early charmer so much that I will be planting lots more this fall. They will naturalize (spread themselves), but I can be impatient and want to ensure that I have a nice carpet of yellow by next year.

Crocus are another early favorite, and there are a couple types you can get. The smaller, but very early ones are called Crocus biflorus or Crocus tommasinianus. They come in yellows, blues and purples and go great with the white snowdrops. Crocus chrysanthus show up a few weeks later and are a bit larger. This is also about the same time the sweet little Iris reticulata make their appearance. These are little 4–6” irises in blues or purples with yellow markings on their throats. Because they are also small, plant them in large quantities, along with some yellow crocus for contrast – stunning!

Next, my favorite color will appear, the bright, true blue Chionodoxa (ky-on-o-dox’ a) or Glory-of-the-Snow. The short stems each bear 3–6 open bell-shaped flowers that are an intense blue with a white center. Another flower that looks similar to the Chionodoxa and blooms at the same time is the Scilla sibirica (skil’ a) which is slightly taller and even more intense blue. Together, these will carpet my garden after the winter aconite has finished.

These small, shallowly planted bulbs are also easy to combine with the larger and later tulips and daffodils, by planting them all in the same hole. Just dig your 6–8” hole, line it with the larger bulbs, then fill it in to two inches below the surface, add the smaller bulbs and cover.

Next month I will talk about the large group of tulips and daffodils. There are enough of these to brighten your garden from March to June, so start planning your winter garden now.

Theresa Beaver grows cut flowers in Moscow and can be found selling bouquets at the Moscow Farmers’ Market.