Journal

Grow your own cup of snowdrops

One of the wonderful things about spring bulbs is that they are perfectly happy in all sorts of odd containers, even when they don't have any drainage holes - bowls, jelly moulds, jugs and cups. This little cup belonged to mat great grandmother - the only thing that has been passed down from her - and I love having it out of the display cabinet and showing off some snowdrops from the garden.

You need

• cup/bowl/other small container
• small bulbs
• horticultural grit
• moss (do not pick from wild, use more grit if you can't find moss in your garden)

Step 1. - choose your bulbs. For a cup you want bulbs that will not grow tall. Having them indoors always makes them stretch up a bit more than they will outside - look how tall these snowdrops are! I dug these from the garden when I could see the flowers were formed but they had not begun to come out. You can also buy small pots of spring bulbs in garden centres or florists (even the tiny narcissi are too tall for a cup, so if you can only get them use a bowl)

Step 2. - put a spoonful of gravel at the bottom of your cup (if there is a design inside it put a little bit of plastic cut from a bag right at the bottom first to protect it).

Step 3. - gently tease the bulbs apart a little and nestle onto the gravel so that they are steady and upright. Cram as many bulbs in as you can so that they will hold each other up and then fill in with compost.

Step 3. - Water gently - be careful not to overwater and get the bulbs waterlogged.

Step 4. - Carefully tease the moss apart and push it in between the stems to cover the soil.

Step 5. - The arrangement will last longest in a cool spot - you can pop it into a cool room overnight, or even outside if dry and sheltered.

Step 6. - Once the snowdrops have finished flowering plant them outside in the garden. They should be planted a bulb's depth under the ground.

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