The warmer weather has been a long time coming but now it’s just about here, HEATHER BARRON, looks at how to bring Spring into the home

IT’S not difficult to hurry spring along a little by decorating your home with bowls of beautiful spring bulbs, which will add colour and scent to any room.

There are so many pretty containers that you can use – even your own serving dishes. If you are worried about staining any dishes you might want to use again, line them first with plastic, or insert plastic tubs.

There are different types of bulbs for indoor growing – those that need to be chilled, and those that don’t. You don’t have to worry about this yourself if you’re buying from a supplier, as all the preparatory work will have been done months ago.

Bulbs that don’t need to be chilled are generally those that are native to warm climates, such as amaryllis which come in lots of colours from deep red, through pink, peach and white. They’re one of the easiest indoor bulbs to grow, and they’re fast bloomers, usually starting to show in about four weeks.

Plant them either in pots filled with soil, or you can just arrange them in a shallow bowl and use pebbles, glass beads or various stones to hold them in place. Pour in only enough water to cover the bottom quarter of the bulb, and keep topped up as necessary.

Once they finish flowering, let their leaves grow on until June, then remove from the pot and put them away safely to ‘rest’. They can be replanted from autumn to Christmas. Do this every year and they will get bigger and better.

Paperwhite narcissus are a treat to the eye and the nose! Beautifully delicate and very fragrant, you can save bulbs in a cool place and plant in pretty bowls every few weeks. Dot them round the house for on-going blooms through March.

Hyacinths, mini daffodils, tulips and crocuses are some of the bulbs that need chilling, and provide a riot of colourful blooms when they flower. Even daffodils come in such a variety of different shades of yellow, orange and white that they will cheer up any room.

Be brave, and plant quite a few bulbs together in a wide, shallow pot, without letting them touch, but leave at least 2 inches of soil underneath the bulb for the roots to grow. The top of the bulb can be level with the rim of the pot.

If you plant different varieties in the same pot, you might end up with different flowering times, so if you want all your blooms up together, plant the same type together.

You can plant larger bulbs below smaller bulbs and they will grow round the ones above, thus providing a denser display.

Always water thoroughly after planting, and keep a check to make sure the soil doesn’t dry out, especially if you like your central heating turned up high!