Right about now, those brightly-labeled catalogues and cardboard boxes start popping up in hardware stores, supermarkets, garden centers and the like, promising a bit of spring after a long gray winter. I'm talking about spring- flowering bulbs, of course; tulips, daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, scilla, and frittilaria for the more adventurous.

But even though bulbs generally appear for sale in mid-August, for best success just buy them now and dream until the soil temperature is around 60 degrees; roughly the end of September or beginning of October. A good rule of thumb is to wait until after the first frost. Some gardeners swear by planting under a waxing (growing) moon. That's an old-wives tale, but who knows?

When you do plant them, remember that most bulbs do best in a sunny location with good drainage. The more sun, the better the flowering will be. In terms of depth, you should generally plant each bulb in a hole three times its height. Plant crocuses, scilla, grape hyacinths and snowdrops 4-5". Tulips, daffodils and hyacinths should go deeper- approximately 8". For the cautious, an extra inch or so won't hurt and will provide a bit of protection from our "false springs". I had daffodils breaking the surface in January last year. This fall my new bulbs will go a bit deeper.

For masses of color, dig your holes or trenches and place the bulbs in groups of one to three, pointed-side up. Keep them close together but not touching; for best display place them about twice a bulb-width apart. Cover them, tamp down the soil and then water them really well. If it hasn't rained, water again in 4 or 5 weeks. If you like to mulch, you can mulch them for a little more protection, but remember to scrape it away in the spring before they appear.

A word about deer: if you have them--and you know if you have them--stick with daffodils and grape hyacinths, snowdrops or scilla. Crocuses and tulips especially, are good deer-food.

Another thing to consider when you plant is this: some bulbs are naturalizers and some are not. If you are looking to plant a large area, you may want to stick with bulbs that will come back and multiply like daffodils, scilla and crocuses. You can divide these clumps after flowering every three to four years. Most tulips only look good the first year or two, and the second year depends on how long you are willing to put up with the dying foliage. Some tulips--the Darwin hybrids (tall), fosterianas (medium) and kaufmannianas (short)--will naturalize, but have slightly different flower forms than traditional hybrid tulips.

Next spring enjoy your fall labor, and then wait. And then wait some more, and then cut off the dead foliage. One of the most common questions we get every spring regards when to cut bulb foliage. Flowering uses up all the stored food in the bulb that needs to be replenished by photosynthesizing. If you cut off the foliage too soon, you will diminish the next yearıs flowers. Fertilizing immediately after flowering before the foliage browns will help, but itıs most important not to cut them off too soon! If the unsightly foliage bothers you, plant bulbs where their dying leaves will be hidden by newly-emerging perennials in the border. Whatever you do my mother begs you NOT to braid the foliage. This just makes her cringe.

Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square plants over 125,000 bulbs every fall. When you get spring fever next year, they may be worth a trip. Who knows, you may be inspired!