I went a bit mad last year when the spring bulb catalogues arrive,d and ordered about £40 of assorted bulbs to plant in the autumn, as i was sure my garden would be finished by then.  As usual with my cottage revamp it took longer than expected, garded now 2/3rd done, but I only just found hte packs of bulbs :(  My question is, do I bin them, or is it worth sticking them in a pot or in the garden and see if they will come good next spring (or even the one after!)  In case it makes a difference, there are Tulilps, Narcissi and Muscarri.

Second green fingered question, I was given some plants/cuttings by a friend last year (again supposing garden finished last autumn)  They are still in pots, and look OK, but don't know what to do with them.  The one I am most puzzled with is a Penstemon.  It has died down a bit at the top but lots of little pairs of leaves have appeared down the stem,  do I plant and cut back to the new leaves, or plant and leave as is?  NExt, Geraniums (not perargoniums) 2 pots of these, one died back but is shooting away now other overwintered fine, do I just pop them in the bed or do they need anything special?  Lastly Lily of the Valley - I know they can get a bit out of control, do I have to take any special measures to contain them before they try to take over the garden?

Any help much appreciated.

The bulbs I would plant out unless they are very soft, plant them deep, if they come good great but saves you putting them in pots & then planting out.
With the Penstemon, I'd just cut away the dead looking bits & plant out & the same with the geraniums. Lily of the Valley, like shade, don't know if there is anything you can do to contain them I've never been lucky enough to have them go on the rampage. But if they do, they're not to difficult to pull up! Good luck, Lily of the Valley has to be one of my favourites.

Regarding the Tulips, Narcissi & Grape Hyacinth....plant them from September onwards, if they grow, they do, if they don't there's nothing lost but this time of the year isn't the time for planting spring flowering bulbs.

I don't know much about Lily of the Valley's growing habits, but with plants that can overtake quickly eg. bamboo and mint (Is that the herb that spreads quickly?) it is recommended to plant them in pots before you put them into the ground, that way it contains the roots from spreading.

Lily of the valley spreads amazingly; mine comes up between all the paving slabs on the patio - it's a bit like stepping stones! But be warned - so does muscari - and it becomes very straggly and untidy (the small bulbils that get dislodged when you weed during the summer just produce weedy leaves and no flowers for years) after a while. Once you've got it you'll never be rid of it!

I've tried for years to grow Lily of the Valley - reminds me of my Gran who had loads outside her back door - never had any luck with it but at last, this year I have a small clump just starting to come into bloom - so pleased as I adore them.  Don't mind them spreading but I have bluebells that spread like mad as well as a small pale mauve flower that seems impossible to get rid of no matter how many bulbs I dig up and dispose of every year.

You sound like me with the daffodils, every year I dig them up and there's always a new one somewhere the next year!  Lovely if you like them but I don't.  Although I am winning slowly :-P

Thanks for all the help everyone, fingers crossed next spring at least some of the bulbs will have pulled through.  think the Lilly of hte Valley can go under the Cherry blossom tree for shade.  Will try Leash advise with the Penstemon and see what happens. 

I used to have a lovely garden until I got my dogs :(
Now my 'lawn' is ruined and will need re-seeding or re-turfing at some point, but I consoled myself with having pots with plants in placed around the garden until my dogs thought they were their dinner!  Hmmmm...