IF YOU’VE EVER SPENT a soggy afternoon planting bulbs with visions of a brilliant future display only to be underwhelmed at a spare showing in spring, consider planting a bulb lasagna.

Layering bulbs (get it, lasagna?) that bloom sequentially — from late winter through spring —  creates a smashing focal point with far more pizzazz than the same number of bulbs blooming here and there around the garden. It’s easy when you follow this step-by-step recipe.

Start by selecting a color palette. Harmonious colors strengthen the display.

A mix of orange, copper, fuchsia and purple adds warmth to the spring garden. Or maybe you’re after a calm, cool and collected blend of white, ivory, pale yellow, and soft pink with burgundy accents. Dark purple, burgundy and black shot through with bronze and gold read dramatic. Of course, buying a mixed collection of bulbs curated for color works too.

Next it’s time to select a container. The deeper your pot, the more layers can go into your bulb lasagna; a 10-inch pot will hold two layers, a 14-inch pot can accommodate three. Any frost-proof terra-cotta, glazed, plastic, concrete or faux stone container will do. A galvanized trough or a whiskey barrel provides ample room for planting. Adequate holes for drainage are nonnegotiable.

Now for the fun part! Select bulbs that bloom between March and May and sort them into early-, mid-, and late-blooming varieties.

Snowdrops, crocus, dwarf iris and muscari are the first bulbs to bloom.  Daffodil blooms follow in March and April. The vast narcissus family includes early miniature forms, such as ‘Tête à Tête’, as well as midseason blooms and tall late blooming varieties. Graceful small-cupped daffodils are more proportionate to the scale of a mixed planting than varieties with large trumpets.

If you’re not a fan of fading narcissus foliage, and really who is, jonquilla varieties have fine grasslike leaves that ripen discreetly. Other midseason flowering forms, such as triandrus and tazetta, produce multiple stems topped by clusters of blooms for an abundant show from fewer bulbs.

Hyacinths are midseason showboats. When planted around the edge of your bulb lasagna container, their upright stature helps support other blooms — think of them as a hyacinth corset with a powerful fragrance that’s anything but restrained.

The grand finale: Tulips that bloom in April and May. If you have the room, surround tall tulips, such as giant Darwin hybrids or flamboyant parrot varieties, with shorter forms, like peony or triumph varieties.

Finally, it’s time to plant your layers — don’t worry about crowding, emergent shoots will bend around the bulbs on top of them. Place your container where it will receive partial to full sun in spring. You can plant them as early as October and as late as November and even into December, although with less time for roots to develop, the stems may be shorter.

The largest bulbs, tulips make up the deepest layer of the lasagna. Add a couple of inches of potting soil to your container, place tulip bulbs about 2 inches apart, top with more soil and lightly firm your first layer.

Hyacinths and daffodils make up the next layer, topped by a generous layer of the smallest bulbs. Firm each layer and water well after planting to settle the soil.

To avoid a bare pot over winter, finish your bulb lasagna with winter pansies. The hardy plants bloom in fall, continue sporadically through winter and on into spring, by which time bulbs will take center stage. With luck, the plants may also deter foraging squirrels.

If your container is on a covered deck or anywhere it won’t get winter rain, make a note to remind yourself to water occasionally to keep soil moist, especially as roots are forming. Feed emerging bulbs with an organic bulb mix in early spring.

Remove flowers as they fade throughout spring but leave foliage intact, so it can ripen naturally and recharge the bulbs’ energy.