This is the time of year many flower bulb companies have their end-of-season sales and pre-season sales. They offer great prices now for summer planted fall-blooming bulbs and fall-planted spring-blooming bulbs.

For example, American Meadows is selling fall-planted bulbs half-off and bags of 50-bulbs for around $20. (877-309-7333 and americanmeadows.com)

Colorblends has perennial tulips for $39.00 per hundred or $330 a thousand. (888-847-8637 and colorblends.com)

To fill a pot or planter, consider Holland Bulb Farms summer sale of 14 tulips for $7.00. (800-689-2852 and hollandbulbfarms.com)

Flowers from corms, tubers, thick roots and actual bulbs are all sold under the category of bulbs.

A few mail order and catalog companies sell bulbs that are shriveled or too immature to bloom the first year, so sometimes a really inexpensive deal turn out to be not as good as spending a little more.

Wherever you decide to shop, summer is the time to think about the flowers you want to greet you this fall as summer winds down and next spring when cold weather breaks. Planning now will also give you ample time to prepare beds for the fall planting.

In zone 7, fall-planted bulbs include tulips, daffodils, belladonna lily, anemone, hyacinth, muscari, scilla, allium, iris, crocus, fritillaria, chiondoxa, lily of the valley,corydalis, crocosmia, dicentra, foxtail lily, trout lily, snowdrops, starflower, naked ladies, star-of-Bethlehem lilies, red star, wandflower, bluebells, and others.

Bulbs that are not hardy in our area are planted in pots and over-wintered in the garage, basement or garden shed. Pots of calla lilies, dahlias, ginger freesia, and others are pulled out of their protected winter homes every spring, repotted into larger containers and set out to provide color on patios and in flower beds.

In their fall-planted bulb selection, Breck's Bulbs has 20-anemones for $10 and a Deer Rejection Collection of 42 bulbs for $34. (513-354-1511 and brecks.com)

Easy to Grow Bulbs will ship their bulbs in February rather than September. Crocosmia bulbs are 5 for $7.00. (866-725-5361 and easytogrowbulbs.com)

Bulb planting and growing

Water is going to rot bulbs so if your beds retain water for four or five hours after a heavy rain, choose another spot or build a raised bed.

Planting on a slope helps keep water away from bulbs. Another helpful method is to dig the planting hole and line the bottom with one-fourth-inch of crushed oyster shell from your local farm supply store.