Plant wild tulips, rather than showier varieties, for a meadowy garden look come spring

Big, blousy show-stoppers are all very well, but species tulips offer longer-term benefits and come in array of hot colours

Nearly three months after moving in and we’re still surrounded by boxes. Somewhere, possibly in the cellar or maybe the shed, there is a brown paper bag of bulbs I lifted from the old garden. Traditionally, I plant them in December – partly because life is always too busy, but also because as well as being cool, London autumns are increasingly wet, so that this helps stave off rot.

There’s something enticing about a second-year tulip. Anyone after big, blousy show-stoppers will replace their bulbs every year, and come April I will dutifully like their Instagram posts. But with my garden currently a wasteland, it feels almost perverse to insert the opulence of brand-new botanical tulips – like putting a wedding hat on when you’re in your PJs. Should I find my bag of older bulbs, anything they offer up will be a little more muted, but, crucially, free.