The value of spring-flowering bulbs in the garden is obvious even to the most inexperienced gardener. Daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, etc. are among the best known and easiest of plants to grow. Anyone, even a child, can plant a new bulb in the autumn, and be almost certain that it will produce a flower in the spring.
New bulbs, in fact, bought from a good supplier, are among the best bets in gardening. The commercial producer for his own good is bound to give them the right treatment during the preceding season, and this mean that the flower, or at least the flower bud, is already formed inside each bulb, and that only something very drastic can stop it forcing its way out when the time comes.
Corms and tubers are slightly different. They are all classed as ' 'bulbous-rooted' , but unlike bulb's, the bulbous part is purely a food supply, and the flower is not formed inside. With the same ready-made source of food to draw on, however, they have almost the same flower-producing potential as bulbs.
Crocuses are the best known of de spring-flowering corms, and pi ire the easiest to grow. If left undisturbed in a spot that suits them, they will go on flowering mid increasing every year, whatever the weather. This easygoing habit makes them, along with many varieties of daffodils, classic subjects for planting in situations where they will be left entirely alone naturalizing, as it is called - to provide a welcome trouble-free show each spring. Orchards, rockeries, grassy banks and tree-shaded places where very little else will grow can all be made attractive with no more trouble or expense than the initial buying and planting.
