Commonly known as Glory of the Snow since it is one of spring’s early bloomers, Chionodoxa has up to ten star-shaped, six-petaled clustered flowers with bright white centers atop dark stems with sparse, narrow foliage. Dating back to the late 1800s, this Turkish native is deer-resistant and naturalizes readily in well-draining soil and in full to partial sunlight. As Chionodoxa matures over time, when it’s happy where it’s planted, it naturalizes by bulb offsets (called bulbils: baby bulbs on the sides of the mother bulb you’ve planted), and maybe even by self-sowing seed. It’s terrific planted en masse in garden borders, sunny woodland borders, rock gardens and in irregular river-like swaths. It creates a wonderful effect when interplanted with other early spring bloomers like Narcissi, Tulips, Muscari and Hyacinth. (Chionodoxa is also good for forcing indoors over the winter. Pot them up in mid-October and precool them at a consistent, dark 38° to 45°F for ten to twelve weeks with moderate watering. Bring them into the house~they will bloom about two to four weeks later.)

You’ll need about nine bulbs per square foot. (Square footage is determined multiplying the planting site’s length times its width.) Bulb size: 5 cm/up. Full to partial sunlight. Bloom time in horticultural zone 5: April. Plant 4" deep and 4" apart. HZ: 3-8. Height: 4" to 8", depending on the variety.