In Chicago, where I grew up, tulips were pretty much the only thing that kept us going through the winter. You can survive snow, and you can survive ice, and you can even survive the razor winds that blow in from the lake to rub your face raw, if you know that one day you will look out a window and see a clump of tulips, their swan necks improbably supporting the weight of their fat flowers.

But it can be daunting, in the autumn, to figure out how precisely to make tulips happen. Which varieties to plant? Will crocuses grow in your climate? How do you gracefully make room in the garden for flowers that bloom briefly before producing withering foliage you shouldn’t cut back for weeks?

For advice, I phoned bulb grower Scott Kunst of Old House Gardens in Michigan. He grows and sells hundreds of hardy and rare, vintage varieties of tulips, daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, bluebells, and other bulbs.

“Start small,” he suggested.

Here are Scott Kunst’s 10 ideas for planning a spring bulb garden:

Photography by Michelle Slatalla except where noted.

Know your microclimate.

Go outdoors and take stock of your garden’s microclimate: where are the sunny spots and well-drained soil? That’s where most bulbs grow best. Draw a garden plan to remind yourself.

Buy 5, 7, 9, or 11.

While you’re looking at your garden, imagine clumps of bulbs, planted in clusters of five or more of a single variety; that’s how they look best.

Know your hardiness zone.

The US Department of Agriculture has developed a map of hardiness zones to help you choose plants that will survive in the climate of your geographic area. Check your USDA hardiness zone by entering your zip code at USDA Plant Hardiness Map; purchase bulbs that are rated for your zone. You can search for bulbs for your zone with the Heirloom Bulb Finder at Old House Gardens.

Start small.

The first year you plant bulbs, fill a few holes in the garden rather than trying to make the whole garden look like a field in Holland.

Use a fence as backdrop.

Plant bulbs in narrow, curving clusters that run parallel to the fence. “This is a trick I learned from Gertrude Jekyll,” says Kunst. “Rather than planting a big, round circle that’s three feet wide, make a gentle curve that’s about 18 inches wide. The bulbs will be in your line of vision when they bloom, and after they go over, other plants behind and in front will hide the yellow foliage.”

Heights may vary.

When deciding where to place bulbs, take size guidelines with a grain of salt. Heights of the same variety of bulb can vary from one year to the next, and in different growing zones. “It’s OK to mix up heights,” says Kunst. “It looks less garden-y than if you try to put all the tall ones in the back and all the short ones in the front.”