'Lip service; Gardening.

Byline: PIPPA GREENWOOD

When Tulipmania was at its height - back in 17th century Amsterdam - people were so taken by the flowers something close to house prices were said to be paid for the prized bulbs.

Thankfully these days tulips are amazingly good value so you can relax and enjoy them without having to take out a second mortgage.

Now is the time for tulip planting so that, come spring, those silken blooms will already be busy transforming your flowerbeds and tubs.

Late planting

Tulips are best planted a little while after most other springflowering bulbs - from the second half of October and well in to November.

If you plant too early, they will be far more prone to damage from the fungal disease tulip fire which wrecks the leaves and flowers.

Gritty bed

If your garden soil is clay and rather heavy, tulips may suffer and are certainly less likely to thrive or come back in respectable numbers after their first wet winter.

A heavy loam soil works well but anything that's not welldrained may cause problems. You can get around this to a certain extent by digging an extra-large planting hole and putting an inch or two of horticultural gravel or grit in the bottom before planting.

Container colour

Tulips look great in all kinds of containers - window boxes, tubs and decent-sized pots.

All types do well but shorter varieties will give the best effect - check the packet for heights.

Good drainage is essential so make sure that there are plenty of crocks in the bottom of the container and that it's well drilled with drainage holes.

Either a loam-free multipurpose compost, or this mixed 50:50 with a loam-based compost and a bit of added grit, should provide the perfect growing conditions.

Fantastic foliage

Most people think first of tulips' drop-dead gorgeous flowers - and rightly so - but don't forget that many also have goodlooking foliage, which can help to bring colour and texture to your pots and beds.

Try the Kaufmanniana types such as Johann Strauss, which has dark-red flowers with yellow edges and mottled leaves, or even better, the Greigii-type tulips, which all have maroonpatterned leaves.

Check out Red Riding Hood in richest red.

Long-lived lovelies

Tulips don't tend to be the longest living bulbs in the garden - unless you try species such as Tulipa sprengeri or Tulipa turkestanica.

These have smaller, less showy flowers and are considerably more expensive initially but they look gorgeous, last longer and, better still, spread extensively in the right spot.

Clever combos

Tulips look equally great planted with each other or with lots of other plants.

Try combining the richly purple-black leaves of Pittosporum Tom Thumb with any purple tulip such as Passionale. For a wackier effect, go for the frilly-petalled Parrot tulips, with green streaks on their petals, or you could combine the Spring Green tulip with any lowgrowing shrub or plant.

Forgotten favourites

Don't forget those classic combinations like richest red tulips surrounded by a mist of forget-me-nots.

Dreamily pretty, this wonderful duo is easy to grow.

Either sow the forget-me-not seed now, as you plant the bulbs, or wait till early in the year, just before the bulbs emerge.

Reader offer!

TULIPS always add a welcome splash of of colour and you can save more than 40% on this collection from Mr Fothergill's Seeds:

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Tulip Groenland -pretty tulip of mixed colours (pounds 7.95, 20 bulbs).

Tulip White Triumphator - ornamental (pounds 7.95, 15 bulbs).

Tulip Red Shine - a truly stunning lily-flowered tulip in a brilliant shade of ruby red (pounds 7.95, 20 bulbs).

A bumper collection of all four varieties (pounds 17.80 for 65 bulbs), saving pounds 14!

To order by credit or debit card, call 0844 811 6733. Delivery within 28 days. Offer is subject to availability - we reserve the right to substitute any varieties for others of equal or greater value.

Help!

MY pumpkins are doing really well but in the past week some have gone soggy at the base. What should I do? I want some left for Halloween!

Jane Mountmouth Notts

Pippa says: I suspect it's soil moisture and something damaging its skin where it rests on the soil.

Slugs are likely, so check for signs.

Carefully lift the pumpkins, dry their bases and raise them off the ground - maybe on an upturned plant saucer or a deep handful of straw.

The easiest and safest way to keep is to harvest them and store them in a cool, dry place well away from slugs, mice and other problems.

PIPPA GREENWOOD has presented her own series, Growing Science, on Radio 4 for three years and is a regular panelist on the station's Gardeners' Question Time. She's also written many books including Pippa Greenwood's Gardening Year (Headline, pounds 16.99).

Send your questions, comments and tips to Pippa at [e-mail] or write to Your Life, Daily Mirror, 1 Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5AP.

CAPTION(S):

Tulip Black Hero Tulip White Triumphator Tulip Red Shine Tulip Groenland