You don’t need a garden to enjoy spring bulbs: a balcony or terrace is plenty. October is the perfect time to get your pots ready, and a few months later you’ll have a little theatre of flowers right outside your door. Here’s how to go about it, step by step.
Choose a deep pot with drainage holes
Bulb roots like room, and above all air: pick a pot at least 25 to 30 cm deep, with holes in the bottom. In Provence, terracotta is a safe choice because it breathes and keeps roots cool. Raise the pot on small feet so water can drain freely, the best insurance against rot.
Prepare a free-draining mix
Put a layer of gravel or clay pebbles at the bottom, then fill with a mix of potting soil and sand or grit in roughly equal parts. Bulbs hate wet feet: a light, free-draining mix suits them far better than rich, compact soil.
Layer your bulbs like a lasagne
For staggered flowering in a single pot, plant in layers: narcissus at the very bottom, then tulips above, and finally muscari or crocus near the surface. Cover each layer with a few centimetres of mix. In spring, the flowers take turns one after another. Do keep the tulips for November, when the soil is cooler.
Pack them in without touching
In pots you can plant more densely than in the ground, as long as the bulbs don’t touch. Leave about one bulb’s width between them, pointed end up, for a bouquet effect when they flower.
Water with restraint
One good watering after planting is enough to get roots going. After that, let the rain do the work and water only if autumn stays dry: the mix should feel cool, never soaked. Place the pot somewhere bright, sheltered from the heaviest downpours, and wait for spring.
With a little planning, a single pot can put on a beautiful show. All that’s left is to choose your favourite bulbs and get them planted this month.