I love gardening and always have, when I moved to England the best thing was where I had only lived in flats before, I finally had a small patch of green to call my own!

In order to get that luscious and lush look to the patch of weeds that had been purchased I chose to do a number of things.

I could have spent a fortune buying wonderful tall specimens of plants that would normally take 5 years to grow for that instant impact of colour. Moneywise gardening on a budget precluded this from happening so I had to resort to cuttings from friends and relatives and hope that one day they would become this big, purchasing various publications that offered "free" this and that or to try seeds and bulbs.

Although I didn't get that instant wow factor and I had to wait quite a bit it was well worth the wait. Bulbs are quite literally the saviour of the garden especially for those on a budget.

Yes you have to wait for them to sprout and show their blousy faces through however it is well worth the wait.

A packet of ten daffodils for example can be bought for a pound or sometimes less. They are easy to plant - it is usually best to put a handful of sand or grit into the hole for the base of the bulb to sit in case it rots.

They can fill all sorts of gaps in your garden but best of all they can cover almost the entire year with something that can grow.

Bulbs provide amazing colours and designs. I am forever amazed by the parrot style tulips - a bit pricier than most say for about £2.50 for five of them - but a small indulgence as you don't need many to produce a stunning display.

Crocus are divine and at the front of the border are often the first to show their little faces in the depths of February.

Gladioli are the stunners in summer and yes Dame Edna Everage endorses them but again, a few scattered in amongst the shrubs provide a fabulous display - Daaaaaaaarlings.

Bulbs rarely fail me although you may get about 10% that just cannot be bothered to try and fight through the soil crust in the spring but a good average.

You can make your supplies go further as well given that many such as snowdrops and muscari develop in clumps which you can break apart to provide you with more and more plants.

If you do not wish to go to all that digging trouble, grow them in pots which you can then add in-between the border plants. Once they have stopped flowering, remove, all to dry and then replace with something else that has flowered. They don't mind pots so would suiot a balcony or courtyard garden as well.

I salute the bulb as the ultimate gardener's friend! Now, just need to decide if I go for the red, orange, white or dark purple tulips. And then of course there are the daffodils and narcissi..........