I found this article by Linda McDonald-Cash over at Valley News where she has some great tips on choosing and growing bulbs. I like the way she expresses her fascination for bulbs because?when everything else in the garden is starting to ?wind down? bulbs begin to do the opposite. She explains the difference between bulbs, rhizomes and corms and the various plants that grow from each. Also included are tips on forcing bulbs to produce early blooms.

Hello fellow gardeners! Although there are an endless array of topics to choose from, at this particular time of year I thought it would be appropriate to discuss bulbs, as this is the time you will begin to see them for sale at your local garden centers.
I?ve always found bulbs fascinating myself, as when everything else in the garden is starting to ?wind down? bulbs begin to do the opposite. Once they are planted in the garden they will begin to put roots down, and then eventually up pops a green stalk/leaves and a beautiful and colorful flower.
I prefer to get the best size and healthiest bulbs I can because I know they will not fail and quite often, depending on variety, will give me the biggest blooms and sometimes double blooms.
What is a bulb? It?s an underground structure that contains the entire plant, and its food that will emerge in the spring.
Why do we need to fertilize when planting bulbs you ask, if they already have their food source stored in the bulbs? Because they will be needing that to supply themselves for the next season ? if you do not fertilize them when planting they may not be able to store their food supply for the following year.
There are true ?bulbs?, such as Alliums, Hyacinths, Lilies, Muscari, Narcissus, and Tulips. My favorite of all is the regal Amaryllis, so many varieties and colors to choose from and you can find them soon in pots ready to bloom by Christmas; just keep watering after the bloom, and then plant out in the garden in a protected area for blooming next year!
There are ?rhizomes?, the most familiar one is the Iris, but Cannas, Calla Lilies, and Tuberoses are also rhizomes and can be planted now. Just keep in mind Cannas, Callas, and Tuberoses aren?t hardy. There are also plants/flowers with ?Tuberous roots? that you may see available now, which include daylilies, dahlias, and alstroemerias (Peruvian Lilies). There is another class as well called ?Corms? and this group contains Crocus, Freesias, Gladiolas, and Watsonias among others.

Read the rest of her article at Valley News