BULBS ARE BRIGHT IDEA.

Byline: JANE GATES Gardening

If you haven't been planting bulbs, now's the time to start.

You can still order them from catalogs and nurseries, and home stores are getting in a growing supply. Bulbs are one of the most fun items to plant in a garden. While they usually have a relatively short blooming period, they shouldn't be ignored because they are so showy when in bloom. When they die, they leave room for all the other up-and-coming perennials.

The first step is to chose a bulb, and these are just a few suggestions. There are bulbs for shade: anemone and Spanish bluebell; and bulbs for sun: sparaxis and watsonia. Some bulbs can tolerate neglect in our harsh soil and sun such as brodiaea and dichelostemma (blue Dicks). Others accept the heavy moisture of a bog or a damp pond side: camassia and water iris (rhizomes).

There are bulbs that are adaptable and likely to spend years forming ever-enlarging colonies: crocosmia (monbretias) and gladiolus. And there are bulbs treasured for special uses such as cutting for bouquets or perfume: Oriental lily, freesia and tulip. There are even bulbs that are resistant to rodents: daffodil and allium.

Bulbs and their relatives: corms (flatter bulbs) and rhizomes (like swollen roots with tougher skins) are all versatile. You can slip them between other plants to bloom early while the others are still growing, or enjoy them in a grouping for effect or cutting.

In most parts of Los Angeles County it is necessary to chill Dutch crocus, hyacinth and tulip in a paper bag in the refrigerator for four to six weeks before planting to ensure good flowering. However, the canyons in Santa Clarita are usually cold enough to skip the procedure. If you live in Newhall or Valencia, or you are not sure whether temperatures are cool enough, be safe and refrigerate, not freeze, the bulbs.

While preparing to plant, be cautious of the ravenous gopher. Pocket gophers abound in this area, so it's never a bad idea to plant your bulbs in an area lined with hardware cloth or small-gauge chicken wire. Gophers adore most bulbs and can consume awesome quantities. You may not see mounds of soil because gophers can tunnel for great distances without coming to the surface. Trapping gophers is a choice, but since the little rodents are territorial, once a family is gone, another is usually ecstatic to move into the vacated burrows.

If you've planted bulbs, but never seen any results, try again using a wire basket to protect them. It is a method that is usually both safe and effective, though a little labor intensive.

Once again, autumn cleanup jobs need to be respected. Plant those peas, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, carrots, beets and Swiss chard in your vegetable gardens. More annual pansies, snapdragons, sweet peas, calendulas, stock and violas can go out for decoration as well. And if snails are becoming ravenous, consider one of the new snail baits like Sluggo that contain large amounts of iron, toxic to snails, but safe for soil, birds and other domestic and wildlife.