Gardening: Early bloomers herald spring’s arrival

My heart sang a couple of weeks ago when my patch of white snowdrops appeared at the edge of a snow bank.

A week later, my winter aconite with its bright yellow flowers found their way out of the ground. That means spring has sprung.

For me, the appearance of these early blooming bulbs lifts my spirit like nothing else after a long, drab winter. Their color brightens the dormant landscape and heralds the beginning of the garden season.

The first to pop up are the snowdrops that emerge even before the ground thaws. Their inch-long drooping, bell-shaped white flowers appear first followed by the strappy leaves. Snowdrops are planted 2 inches deep in moist but well -drained soil in partial shade. They are beautiful planted under deciduous shrubs and trees where you can see them. Deadhead the flowers after blooming to redirect energy to the bulbs for a better bloom next year.

Right behind the snowdrops, the winter aconite bursts forth with its ground-hugging, bright yellow flowers that resemble buttercups. When given space, aconite will spread to form large colonies under deciduous trees and shrubs like forsythia or amongst hellebores. Aconite bulbs are planted 2 to 3 inches deep in moist, rich soil. The plants will go dormant and disappear as the heat of the summer moves in.

Reticulated irises look like their cousin Dutch iris but are only 6 inches tall with grassy foliage. They come in blends of pale to dark blue, white and prefer full sun to light shade and fast draining, gravelly soil. They need spring moisture but can’t tolerate wet soil through the rest of the year. They are planted about 4 inches deep and 3 inches apart. Some experts recommend adding new bulbs to your planting every year to replace the few that die .

Glory of the snow, or Chionodoxa, follows shortly after the aconite. Its upward-facing, star-shaped blue, white and pink flowers appear as the snow melts and seem to be almost glassy or translucent. They will grow in full sun to partial shade in well-drained soil. Best planted under deciduous trees and shrubs, the flowers will finish blooming before the trees fully leaf out. They are planted 2 to 4 inches deep and three inches apart.

Last is scilla or squill. Two common members of the family are Siberian squill and wood hyacinths. Like its cousin, it has bell-shaped or star-shaped flowers, often blue, but also in white, pink and purple. It naturalizes quickly under deciduous trees and along streams and ponds. It prefers well-drained, fertile soil. Plant them in clumps 3 to 4 inches deep and 3 to 4 inches apart.

All these bulbs are planted in the fall. The online nurseries are already sending out their fall bulb catalogs. As you clean out the detritus of winter, make a note of where a patch of bulbs could go and get your orders in.