5 Bulbs to plant in October for a beautiful spring garden filled with colourful blooms

There's something quietly hopeful about planting a bulb in October. You tuck a small, plain-looking thing into the soil, walk away, and months later it bursts into colour. In cooler regions, autumn is exactly when gardeners get these spring-flowering bulbs into the ground, so their roots can settle in before winter. In India, this mostly applies to colder places like Kashmir, where the famous tulip garden in Srinagar blooms each spring, and the hill regions. If you live there, or have a cool spot of your own, here are five bulbs worth planting this month.

Few flowers say "spring" quite like tulips. They come in almost every colour and shape, from neat cups to ruffled parrots, and they look spectacular planted in groups. Plant the bulbs about six to eight inches deep and four to six inches apart, with the pointed end facing up, in a sunny spot with well-draining soil. Tulips are happy to go in a little later in autumn, so if October gets busy, you can still plant them in early November.

If you're a beginner, start here. Daffodils are reliable, cheerful and wonderfully easy, and they tend to come back year after year. They're also deer-resistant, which is a relief if wildlife visits your garden. Plant the bulbs about six inches deep, pointed end up, in full sun or light shade, with good drainage. They look lovely when planted in drifts rather than neat rows, and they work well in pots too, giving you golden trumpets while the rest of the garden is still waking up.

Hyacinths are the ones you smell before you see. Their tightly packed spikes of flowers carry one of the sweetest fragrances in the garden, which makes them perfect near a doorway, a seating area or a path. Plant bulbs about four to six inches deep and four to six inches apart, in a sunny, well-drained spot. They also do beautifully in pots. A small tip: wear gloves while handling the bulbs, since they can irritate sensitive skin.

Crocuses are often the first flowers to appear, sometimes when the garden has barely woken up from winter, and that's exactly their charm. These little blooms come in purple, yellow and white, and they're best planted in clusters for a carpet effect. They're easy too, because they're planted shallow, about three to four inches deep, with the pointed end up. Tuck them along the edges of borders, under trees or into pots where you can enjoy them up close.

If you want some drama, plant alliums. These ornamental onions send up tall stems topped with round, purple spheres that look almost like fireworks, appearing in late spring and early summer, just as the tulips fade. Smaller varieties, like the popular 'Purple Sensation', can be planted about four to six inches deep and six inches apart, in full sun and well-drained soil. Bees love them, so they're good for the garden's wildlife too.