Who doesn’t like bulbs?  And you can always find a space for them… tucking them under shrubs, or in between perennials, or in a planter by the door.  In late winter and early spring they shine, playing a big part in the early-season show.  Here are a few of my favorites, in order of bloom.  Some of them are off the beaten path and worth a look!

Crocus vernus ‘Pickwick’.  Called “giant” crocus, though less than a foot tall, C. vernus blooms after the snow crocuses (C. chrysanthus) and tommies (C. tommasinianus) and is, in fact, a little bigger than those two species.  The flowers come in purple or white, but if you can’t decide, why not have both colors in one plant?  The lines seemed to have been painstakingly etched in lavender ink by an artist.

Iris reticulata ‘Katherine Hodgkin’.  What a dreamy, pale, cotton-candy blue.  And so early!  Other I. reticulata clones are no slouches, either, usually wearing purple or cobalt-blue shades.  When clumps get crowded, it gets hard to see the graceful individual forms of the flowers, though a solid swath of color in early March is quite a treat.