Bulbs have a bad rap as short-lived and finicky. This guide will introduce you to my favorite spring blooms for a reliably perennial succession of color, from the moment the ground thaws in spring until the herbaceous perennials take over in early summer. I garden in the high plains and mountain west of North America, zone five. Our winters are cold and snowy, spring is a freeze-thaw cycle, and summer is hot and dry. While these conditions might seem challenging in to garden in, it's actually the perfect environment for growing bulbs. There are always exceptions, but most bulbs (daffodils, tulips, alliums, onions, garlic,) need a moist environment during active growth (spring and fall) and dry (or frozen) conditions when they are dormant (summer and winter). Growers in warm, rainy regions often find their bulbs rot during the winter or summer, forcing them to treat their bulbs as annuals. Because bulbs don't generally do well in the kind of climates where many gardeners grow, they've gotten a bad reputation (which makes sense, if they are treated as annuals!) But if you garden in a climate with cold winters and dry summers, you might just be lucky enough to grow the most trouble-free, easy-to-grow plants, spring bulbs. Welcome to the wonderful world of spring bulbs.