Most people regard Tulip Fever as a thing of the past, a 17th-century aberration from a time when tulip bulbs were the hottest commodity around. I still get tulip fever at this time of year — a heady combination of spotting my first tulips in the garden and the arrival of my bulb catalogue. With so many types of tulips available (lily-flowered, peony-flowered, parrot, 'Viridiflora', etc) in so many beautiful colours, I find them very hard to resist, but with the key to their beauty often directly related to repeating one form en masse, I find I have to exercise a certain level of self-control.

1 With forget-me-nots: Tulipa 'White Triumphator', Myosotis and Digitalis purpurea f. albiflora

Precise massed rows of tulips, underplanted with forget-me-nots, is a late-spring classic often used in formal bedding schemes. Here, the same plants are used more informally — with the elegant outlines of white tulips appearing sparingly among a haze of frothy Myosotis.

The bulky foliage of emerging foxgloves provides a solid backdrop against which to view the clean shape of the lily-flowered tulips, as well as offering welcome respite from the urge to count the hundreds of tiny blue flowers that make up the carpet of forget-me-nots. These white foxgloves will flower in June, continuing the vertical interest and colour contrast through the scheme as the tulips begin to fade.

2 With blossom: Triumph and Single Early Tulips with Malus 'Golden Hornet'

Try planting them in long grass with an umbellifer such as cow parsley (kept in check by the grasses). In this combination, vivid tulips such as 'Negrita', 'Blue Diamond' and 'Purple Prince' add intense shots of colour to the pale-pink and off-white varieties 'Don Quichotte' and 'White Dream'.

Although the idea of pastel-pink tulips in grass might sound saccharine, this colour combination works perfectly, toning in with the crab apple buds and blossom.

3 With euphorbia: Tulipa 'Orange Emperor' and Euphorbia characias

Another classic way of growing tulips is clustered in pots. Here tall terracotta pots of Tulipa 'Orange Emperor' are repeated at intervals along a pathway. This simple contrast of colour, texture and form is strengthened by subtle detailing — such as the way the terracotta pots mimic the shape and colour of the tulip flower — while the green markings at the base of the tulip flower which soften the bold use of orange return the eye to the euphorbia and tulip foliage. If not keen on orange, you could substitute the tulips with other single colours such as deep-purple 'Queen of Night' or frilly 'Black Parrot'. You could also use a glazed pot matching the colour of your chosen tulips.

How to grow

Tulips are very easy to grow but the popular varieties often sell out very quickly, so place your order by mid-summer if you can. Plant the bulbs in autumn at a depth double their height with sharp sand for drainage. After flowering, do not cut back the foliage until autumn to allow the bulb to regenerate.

Traditionally, tulip bulbs are lifted after flowering, dried and stored for replanting in the autumn, but I have never bothered, and in my experience the bulbs flower pretty well year on year, so long as they are planted deep enough. In a pot, however, I would treat the bulbs as disposable bedding plants and replace them annually.

Suppliers: For cheaper prices and unusual varieties, try Peter Nyssen (0161-747 4000; www.peternyssen.com), Gee Tee Bulb Company (01205 260412; www.gee-tee.co.uk), Avon Bulbs (01460 242177; www.avonbulbs.com) or Walkers, which has a 10 per cent discount for orders placed before May 18 (01406 426216; www.bulbs.co.uk).

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