I must confess: I’ve been tempted to pick up a large flower bulb, hold it on my outstretched arm and launch into Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him.” Now, having admitted the sad fact that I can find parallels between a flower bulb and a jester’s head, here’s the explanation: both are ingeniously clever, underestimated and have deceiving appearances. At first glance, a package of spring bulbs seems not quite dead, yet not quite alive, either. The truth, however, is that beneath their onion-skin exterior is a bounty of genetic information that allows them to exist in subterranean bunkers until they sense that it’s time to pop through the soil and soak up the sunlight. It’s a heroic resilience that’s owed to their remarkable physical characteristics—namely their skin. Here’s how it works.

Tough, leathery or scaly skin reduces moisture loss and helps keep diseases at bay, while a large reserve of carbohydrates surrounds what is the equivalent of a highly compressed and miniaturized plant. Some bulb-forming plants, such as the giant red squill (Urginea maritime or the rat poison plant), develop basketball-size bulbs that can survive for years without so much as a drop of water.

There’s little doubt that bulb-producing plants have that extra esprit that makes them welcome additions to any garden. And while I am a great fan of fall-planted bulbs, such as tulips and narcissus, I can’t resist the tender, spring-planted bulbs that burst forth during the warm days of summer. Deciding which species of bulb to choose depends on the look you’re after. If huge, tropical-looking foliage strikes your fancy, then Colocasia is your plant. Its common name is elephant’s ears, which alludes to the similarities between the size and shape of each of Colocasia’s leaves and that of its name-sake. On the other hand, if you prefer big, dramatic flowers to huge foliage, then dinner-plate dahlias are the perfect plant. I do, however, tell people who are a bit introverted to avoid planting dinner-plate dahlias in their front yards because the stream of inquisitive pedestrians these blooms attract tends to be limitless. Want it all? Canna lilies will arguably give you the best of both worlds: large leaves and fairly large flowers. I transplant mine into large pots in the late spring and watch them rocket to a height of 2.5 metres by fall.

Now, as a horticulturist, it’s important for me to note I have used the term bulbs to refer to all of the storage structures of plants: tubers, rhizomes and, of course, bulbs. The proper collective term for plants that produce these structures is actually "geophyte.” I just had to get that out in the open. The last thing I want is some future botanist picking up a bit of my remains and saying, “Alas, poor Jim! I knew him.” The bulbs of Canna indica cv ‘Phasion’ produce impressively large leaves and flowers.

Bulbs planted too early into cool, wet soil will stall and may even rot. Follow these guidelines for happy bulbs.

The date of the average last frost in your community is a valuable guideline for when to plant spring bulbs. (Tender tropical bulbs should be planted about two weeks after the date of the average last frost.)

If your spring bulbs begin to sprout while waiting for warm weather—or if you want to get a jump on the season—start the bulbs indoors in pots and transplant them after the danger of frost has passed.

If you live in a cool climate with short summers, start long-season tender bulbs indoors and transfer them to the garden once the weather is consistently warm. Starting bulbs indoors helps to produce big, robust plants—so you don’t run out of summer before the flowers arrive!

Bulbs store enough carbohydrates under their tough, leathery skin to be sprouted without soil.