Planting Bulbs

I get my bulbs from White Flower Farm which provides a nice little instruction manual with each shipment. It tells you how deep to plant and how far apart to space your bulbs. You might also look at the van Bourgondien catalog. I received my bulbs on October 10th, 2006. Fall is the time to plant.
The bulbs come in packages like this. You open them immediately to allow them to breathe and place them in a cool place. Don't wait more than a day or two to plant them.	3 for $7.75	12 for $9.75	12 for $8.75
This is what they will look like next spring.	Lilium Silver Elegance	Tulipa China Town	Tulipa Violet Beauty
Scraping away the mulch and digging out the top two inches of black soil and putting it aside in the wheel barrow to cover the bulbs.
Digging the bed for the lily bulbs 6 to 8 inches deep and 8 to 12 inches apart. Note that the soil consists mostly of Chapel Hill gravel, fortunately since bulbs need good drainage.
Place a few inches of a good quality planting soil in the bottom of the hole. Miracle Gro is what I use. Sprinkle in a teaspoon of bulb fertilizer or bone meal under each bulb. Cover with the reserved topsoil and mulch.
Do the same process for tulip bulbs. Put an inch or two of soil in the bottom of the hole and sprinkle in some bulb fertilizer. Plant these 6 to 8 inches deep and 5 to 6 inches apart. Cover with the reserved topsoil
Break up any clumps of clay and spread the topsoil evenly over the bulbs. You wear gloves so you can get intimate with the soil.
Spread a layer of mulch over your bulbs to keep them from extremes of temperature in winter and summer. You won't have to water them if rains are due in a day or two.
You won't have spent more than an hour doing the planting. You will enjoy the tulips for at least two years and the lilies for many more years. You may want to replant the tulips each year for the best display and to feature new plants that you may like.