Gardening: Plant these bulbs now to flower by Christmas

The festive season seems far away, but you need to prepare now if you want blooms in December

Prepare your bulbs now and you’ll be rewarded with blooms for the festive season. Pictures: Alamy/PA

It may seem a long time until Christmas, but if you want beautifully scented indoor hyacinths and other bulbs such as dwarf narcissi for the festive season you need to think about planting "forced" bulbs now.

Forcing means encouraging bulbs to flower earlier than they would naturally and it is done by growing them indoors for all or part of their growing season.