Why Containers Suit the French Look

The French approach to gardening has always been about intimacy as much as abundance: a pair of terracotta pots flanking a doorway, a cluster of planters on a gravelled terrace, colour at eye level where you can smell it and touch it. For British gardeners working with small courtyards, narrow front steps or a balcony, containers are the easiest way to borrow that aesthetic. They also solve a very practical problem — our winters are wet and our soils can be heavy, and bulbs that sit in cold, sodden ground for months frequently rot before they ever flower. A well-drained pot gives you control over the one thing bulbs care about most.

The reward for a couple of hours' work in September and October is a display that runs from late February into May: crocus first, then daffodils, then tulips in a long, unhurried procession.

Choosing Pots and Compost That Drain Reliably

Depth matters more than width. A container of at least 35cm across and 40cm deep gives you room to layer three tiers of bulbs without them touching, and enough compost to buffer against frost. Terracotta is beautiful and breathes well, but it dries out fast, so glazed stoneware or a good frost-proof ceramic is a kinder choice for a north-facing doorstep. Whatever you choose, it must have drainage holes — one generous central hole is better than several pinpricks — and it should stand on pot feet or bricks so water never pools beneath it.

Use fresh, peat-free multipurpose compost every year. Old compost is exhausted, compacted and often carries vine weevil grubs and bulb fly. Fork it over with 20 to 30 per cent horticultural grit or coarse sand to keep it open, then add a handful of slow-release bulb food. Cover the drainage hole with a single broken crock or a piece of mesh, not a deep layer — you want water to escape, not to sit in a sump.

The Layering Method, Step by Step

This is the technique that turns one pot into three seasons of colour. Work from the largest bulbs at the bottom upward:

• Fill the base with compost to about 25cm below the rim and firm it gently.
• Set the tulips in first, pointed end up, roughly 15cm apart and 20cm deep.
• Add 5cm of compost, then place the daffodils and narcissi in the gaps between the tulips.
• Add another 5cm, then dot the crocus over the surface, 8cm deep and 5cm apart.
• Top up with compost to 5cm below the rim and water thoroughly.

Finish with a centimetre of grit or gravel over the surface. It looks tidy, keeps moisture in, discourages weeds, and — usefully — makes it harder for squirrels to dig.

Depths, Spacings and Which Bulbs to Pick

As a rule, plant each bulb at three times its own height. That means crocus at 8cm, dwarf narcissi at 10cm, standard daffodils at 15cm and tulips at 20cm. Crowding is fine and even desirable in containers — bulbs look better packed than sparse, and the density helps support the stems.

• Crocus: species types are the most weatherproof and flower earliest, in February and March.
• Daffodils and narcissi: choose dwarf and miniature varieties for pots, since tall ones topple in wind. They naturalise well and repeat for years.
• Tulips: mid-season and late varieties extend the display into May. Triumph and Darwin hybrids hold their shape best in a pot. Treat them as annuals if you like — lifting and replacing them each year is no great loss.
• For scent: add a few hyacinths or grape hyacinths to the middle layer, and plant them close to the door where you will brush past them.

Watering, Weather and Winter Protection

Water the pots well at planting, then leave them alone. Autumn rain usually provides all they need, and overwatering is far more dangerous than drought at this stage. If we get a dry October, a single weekly soak is plenty. Move pots against a house wall or into a sheltered corner to reduce the risk of waterlogging, but don't wrap them in plastic — bulbs need air.

When shoots appear in late winter, keep the compost just moist and watch for slugs, which will graze new growth overnight. If hard frosts are forecast while bulbs are in bud, move pots into a porch or against the wall, or drape them with fleece overnight and remove it in the morning. Once flowering begins, water more regularly; dry compost at this point shortens the display dramatically.

After the Show: Getting a Second Year

Deadhead as each flower fades, cutting the stem but leaving the leaves. Let the foliage die back naturally — that is the bulb rebuilding itself for next spring — and keep watering and feeding with a high-potash liquid feed until it yellows. Then stop entirely.

You can leave dwarf narcissi and crocus in the same pot for years, simply topping up the compost each autumn. Tulips are more reliable if you lift them once the leaves have gone, dry them in a shed and store them in a paper bag until October, or plant them out in a border where they can be forgotten. Either way, empty and refresh the compost before replanting, and you will have a pot that earns its place by the door for a decade or more.