The end of the tulips

Sad to say, most tulips are coming to an end. They’re flopping over like a group of schoolgirls on a night out, and beginning to lose their looks. Often the hangover is so great, the flowers refuse to emerge the following year, and the bulbs lie in an exhausted sulk.

As a pick-me-up, you should apply some high-potash fertiliser (make your own comfrey or nettle tea for this) to the plants as they begin to die back, and dead-head the flowers as the seedpods begin to develop. They’re still unpredictable, but this should encourage a show of blooms in following years.