If you have been here a while, you will know I am more than capable of getting carried away when it comes to bulbs. There is just too much choice, especially when I start thinking about how they can carry the garden from the very first crocus right through to late spring.

November is often quite a grey month here, so planning bulbs is one of the easiest ways to keep a bit of hope and colour in view. By the time the first tips start coming through in January, all of this indecision and overbuying suddenly feels entirely justified.