Give Your Garden Bright Spring Color

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Beautiful bulbs

It's as if spring sun comes up from the cold ground when egg-size tulips transform dreary landscapes by unfurling tufts of silky, color-drenched petals.

Each spring, a world-class show of color splashes across the 79 acres at St. Louis' Missouri Botanical Garden, which celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2009. During mid-April's peak bloom time, tens of thousands of tulips and daffodils bloom in seas of white, yellow, orange, violet and pink. The display includes more than 100 types of tulips and more than 750 kinds of daffodils.

In home gardens, bulbs offer fool-proof bright color. "If you can grow dandelions, you can grow spring bulbs," says Jason Delaney, Mobot's senior outdoor horticulturist. Give bulbs quick-draining soil and ample sunlight, then admire the early color.

Pictured: Single Late tulip 'La Courtine'.