As spring begins, my favorite day is the one where, suddenly, from the ground appear hundreds of tiny shoots bringing the beautiful flowers planted in my garden the previous fall.

Daffodils are by far my favorite with their happy yellow blooms brightening up my garden and my life. You can enjoy these beautiful flowers as well.

During the fall, you will need to buy and plant the bulbs for a beautiful spring bouquet. Although some people do choose to plant bulbs helter-skelter across their yard, the impact is a thousand times greater if you plant them in large clumps of 15 or 20 bulbs; this type of planting accentuates their brightness and beauty.

Directions will be given on the package of bulbs concerning how far below the ground to plant them and what types of places in your yard in which they will grow (i.e., sunny, shady, partial shade, etc.).

One drawback to planting bulbs is that many times squirrels will try to dig them up. However, there is an easy solution to this problem. By wrapping the bulbs in steel wool and leaving just the tip of the bulb exposed, so it can grow out of the little wire cage you've created, you can prevent squirrels from stealing your bulbs.

Another option is to plant the bulbs and then cover the bed with chicken wire or plastic fencing until the bulbs starting blooming in the springtime.

When the bulbs come up in the spring and begin to bloom, clip off the blooms as they start to wither. This helps to keep the bulb from producing seeds, which takes a lot of energy, and you want the bulb to concentrate all of its energy to store food in preparation for the bulb's resting period.

When the bulbs are finally completely finished blooming, you will wait to cut off the tops until they are withered and die back. Until that time, you can bend them over and slip a rubber band over them to keep them attached. This will help next year's growth.

Although the flowers growing in your neighbor's yard may seem hard to live up to, planting flower bulbs is a fairly easy and practical way to begin growing flowers of your own. So this fall, visit your local store, pick some flower bulbs that you will enjoy, plant them, and relax until they bloom beautifully in spring!