Here's a way to make spring come a bit early to your garden. Follow this advice when choosing sites to plant spring-blooming bulbs.
Identify warm microclimates in your yard and garden and plant bulb species that bloom in late winter or very early spring there. These bulbs include winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis), snowdrops (Galanthus) and crocus, to name a few.
Related: Find more early-blooming bulbs in "Flowering Bulbs to Plant Within a Lawn"
A microclimate is an area that is generally warmer or colder, or wetter or drier, than the landscape at large. Microclimates are created by exposure (which direction the land faces); surrounding plants and their effect on light levels; topography; proximity to heated buildings or reflective surfaces; and other factors. In a warm microclimate, the soil will warm up earlier as winter ends, thereby waking the bulbs sooner.
You might find a warm microclimate in which to plant bulbs at the base of a porch or stone wall that faces south.
Related: Read more about the situations that cause microclimates, as well as ways to make or encourage microclimates, in "Microclimates in Gardens: Their Causes and Your Opportunities"
