Three things to know about planting spring bulbs:

1. It is foolproof gardening. Plant, water once or twice, and forget. Next April and May, your neighbours will be admiring -- and envious.

2. Squirrels, a.k.a. tree rats, are an annoyance, but you can have a great spring garden with a little forethought and extra work.

3. Bulbs only need sun during their budding and blooming period. So plant them under deciduous trees.

Two things crucial to success:

1. Depth. The most common mistake is not planting bulbs deep enough. A planting depth of three to five times the size of the bulb is the rule of thumb. If a tulip bulb is about five centimetres from tip to base, the planting hole should be between 15 and 25 centimetres deep. Go to the deep end of the range in sandy soil, less so in clay.

2. Drainage. Bulbs need moisture to root, but will rot in very wet soil or water. Do not plant where snow melt puddles. In heavy soil, loosen the dirt at the bottom of the hole and throw in a handful of coarse sand.

Four ways to keep squirrels out of your tulips:

1. Plant deeply -- even 30 centimetres deep for tulips -- and disguise where you dug. Squirrels will investigate newly turned earth every time, so scatter fallen leaves and/or rose prunings (the thorns deter digging).

2. Layer chicken wire over the planting area to within a couple of centimetres of the surface, and cover with the last couple of centimetres of dirt. The bulb shoots will find their way through with no problem in the spring.

3. Shake bulbs in a bag with a couple of teaspoons of talcum powder before planting, and then shake the leftover powder on the soil. No scientific basis, but some gardeners swear by it.

4. Do the same thing with cayenne pepper, pepper flakes or blood meal. The smell is said to deter squirrels.

Five early perennials to hide fading bulb foliage:

1. Pulmonaria (lungwort) with dramatic speckled foliage and delicate pink and blue flowers looks great with small red-species tulips or blue grape hyacinths.

2 & 3. The red foliage of emerging heuchera (coral bells) and brunnera is great next to yellow daffodils.

4&5. Deep green emerging leaves of cranesbill or blue-green leaves of astilbe look lovely next to buttercup-yellow eranthis (winter aconites) or daffodils, or yellow- and white- species tulips.

Six great bulbs to try:

1. Tulipa tarda (also sold as dasystemon tarda). Small- species tulip with starlike yellow-and-white blooms only a few centimetres high.

2. Toronto tulips. My first choice among tulips. Each stem has four or five bright red blooms. They last a long time and look great.

3. Pinocchio tulips. A compact tulip with great red-and-ivory petals.

4. Barrett Browning daffofils. A small red-orange cup in the centre of a white, circular perianth (the "dish" of petals).

5. Ice Follies: A large-cupped soft-yellow-on-cream-white daffodil.

6. Tete a Tete: A bright yellow dwarf daffodil, great for mixing with other bulbs (such as crocus or grape hyacinth) and perennials.

Two spring must-haves:

1. Chionodoxa: Early bloomers with rich blue flowers and white centres.

2. Snowdrop: Nothing gladdens the winter-weary heart like seeing the first snowdrops in your garden -- sometimes pushing up through snow.

Three reasons to plant daffodils:

1. They are not bothered by squirrels because they're bitter tasting.

2. Year after year, they naturalize and replace themselves, unlike tulips.

3. Daffodils are the only common spring bulb with a "face" -- a front and a back.

One lie about daffodils:

The King Alfred, the biggest-selling daffodil in North America, is an imposter. The real King Alfred was bred in England in 1899, but the Dutch bulb industry long ago supplanted it with better and stronger look-alike hybrids. When the sign says King Alfred, the bulbs are likely Dutch Master, Golden Harvest, Yellow Sun or Standard Value.

rhoward@thespec.com

Rob Howard lives and gardens in Hamilton. Talk gardening with him on Room To Grow, Saturdays, 9 to 11 a.m. on AM900 CHML.