I’ve just discovered a brilliant way of arranging spring bulbs indoors – and it’s so simple.
It’s the perfect time to plant bulbs for spring, which means right now, you can experiment with some ‘bulb art’ yourself. To nail horticulturist Michelle Washington-Jenkins’ spiral bulb hack, all you need is a shallow bowl, some compost and some hardy dwarf bulbs (more on those shortly). It’s easy, quick, and perfect for tabletop displays.
Here’s how she did it – and how, according to floral experts, you can achieve the same look without compromising on bulb health.
Michelle’s spiral bulb planting technique is so simple, I’m surprised I’ve never seen it before. She uses grape hyacinth (muscari) bulbs, which you can buy from Crocus.
‘If you’re tired of planting bulbs the usual way, it’s quite quick, it’s very creative, and it’s perfect for tabletop displays,’ she says in the TikTok video.
To get the look, you’ll need a shallow bowl, like this Pot Collection Shallow Bowl from Amazon. Then, you’ll need to form a mound of compost that’s about the same height as the bowl beneath.
Michelle uses a moist bulb fibre for this (Miracle-Gro Premium Bulb Fibre from Amazon is a good choice), and in the video, she gives it a quick sprinkle with a watering can.
From there, Michelle simply twists the bulbs lightly into the top of the soil, layering them in a spiral pattern so they cover the entire surface of the mound. She uses muscari bulbs, explaining, ‘Once they start to grow, you’ll get this gorgeous textured dome of blue flowers in spring.’
The mound base for the bulbs creates a beautiful 3D effect, and Michelle notes that the bulbs alone look fantastic once they’ve been planted up.
‘The spiral‑mound method of planting spring bulbs indoors is a fresh and aesthetic twist on the classic forcing technique,’ says Maryam Ghani, floral expert at Haute Florist. ‘From a styling standpoint, the undulating form immediately elevates what could simply be a pot of bulbs into a living decorative piece.’
Michelle uses muscari bulbs in her demonstration, but says that any dwarf variety bulb will work – so I asked Prestige Flowers’ floral expert, Elise Harlock, which other blooms we could go for.
‘Bulb art works best with hardy spring bulbs, which is why muscari work so well,’ she says. ‘But others, such as hyacinths, narcissi, crocuses, and tulips, which can all grow happily with minimal soil, will perform just as well as long as they have a little water and light.
‘These bulbs store plenty of energy, so they’ll still flower even when their roots aren’t well bedded.’
Whether you plant hyacinths, crocuses or muscari, you’ll still need to make sure you’re not neglecting the bulbs.
‘From a plant care standpoint, good results still rest on the fundamentals: choosing the right bulbs, ensuring they have enough rooting medium and drainage, and giving them the correct chilling or ‘wake‑up’ period if required,’ says Maryam. ‘The spiral formation doesn’t replace those basics, but it does offer a creative canvas.’
It’s also best to choose firm, healthy bulbs for the display, according to Elise, and avoid tender and tropical bulbs like amaryllis, lilies and dahlias, which prefer deeper planting. If you want your display to look just like Michelle’s, muscari bulbs are the best choice.
I can’t wait to try out Michelle’s spiral bulb hack this year. If you’re keen to try other bulb-planting techniques, it’s worth looking at bulb lasagnes, too.
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