VISITORS to Eden are in for a real treat to blast away those winter blues! Throughout last Autumn and early Winter, Eden's horticultural team were hard at work, preparing the ground at the Millennium Commission Lottery funded Eden Project for an explosion of colour for Spring 2004.

Starting at the end of February and continuing until after Easter, Eden's Bulb Mania 2004 promises a riot of stunning spring flowers, including daffodils and scented narcissi, tulips, crocus, muscari, hyacinth, cyclamen, fritillaria, amaryllis, anemone andiris. In total, 250,000 bulbs were planted, both in Eden's outside landscape and inside the Warm Temperate Biome.

The daffodils and narcissi bulbs have all been produced in Cornwall and Eden's Green Team are delighted that by showcasing a vast range of these popular spring flowers, they are also able to support Cornwall's daffodil industry.

Cornwall has long been famous for its spring gardens, giving garden lovers and horticulturists alike a feast for the eyes, whilst waiting for the later summer blooms to appear. Eden, tucked away on the county's mild south coast and located in its snug south facing quarry, provides the ideal location for tempting those early shoots out of the ground and providing a spectacular start to the spring!

A range of beautiful displays has been planned, combining early and late flowering cultivars of the same genera (to extend the season); mixing different genera of bulbs and blending bulbs with other early flowering plants.

Densely planted galvanised containers will be located in prominent positions, to provide bright splashes of colour around Eden and a large bed display is planned in the Warm Temperate Biome, telling the history of the tulip - and how tulip bulbs were once more valuable than gold or diamonds.

A series of talks and short performances are also planned throughout Bulb Mania 2004, to tell the story of how the tulip became one of the world's favourite flowers.

Visitors who want to take some of this early spring magic home with them will be able to purchase a selection of cut daffodils from Eden's shop.