With its popular Bulb Festival now in full swing, Haskins wants to encourage gardeners to celebrate and showcase the fanfare of colours which can be achieved through bulb planting.

Haskins’ Bulb Festival continues across all four garden centres until Sunday November 17. There are more than 250 bulb varieties on sale, with a focus on British-grown bulbs. Of all the varieties on sale, 24 are UK-grown and include a selection of rare and unusual bulbs.

Alasdair Urquhart, Haskins’ in-house plant expert, commented: “Our Bulb Festival aims to highlight how easy it is to create a gorgeous garden through planting bulbs. We’d like to remind our customers that September is the perfect time to be planting bulbs for a vibrant colour display in spring. Planning for spring colour isn’t something that should be left until the last minute; if you’re able to plan ahead and plant now, you’ll reap the rewards next year.”

Haskins’ staff will be on hand to guide customers through various bulb planting techniques, including the ‘lasagne’ technique to achieve different heights and layers. This can be achieved by planting tulips and daffodil bulbs at the bottom of the pot, as these are the largest and latest to flower. Top these with mini daffodils, topped with dwarf irises, and then finally top with crocus bulbs, as these are the smallest and earliest flowering.

Alasdair added: “We’ll be exploring the lasagne bulb planting technique as one of the best ways to provide a colourful display of flowers all season long. We’ll also be recommending our top picks for planting this autumn, acting as the perfect antidote to winter. Bulbs typically flower from February to May with the general sequence being iris, crocus, daffodil and then tulip.”

During the Bulb Festival, Haskins will be working in conjunction with one if its suppliers, Taylors Bulbs, in support of its Little Daffodils campaign. The campaign aims to encourage children to plant daffodils in small pots throughout October, ready for them to flower in spring next year. In support of Greenfingers, Taylors will be donating £5 to the charity from the sale of each bag of daffodils sold to customers nationwide.

Haskins Garden Centres is based in Ferndown in Dorset, West End in Southampton and Roundstone and Snowhill in West Sussex. For more information visit www.haskins.co.uk