Special flower bulbs for a special garden

1. Winter windflower (Anemone blanda)

The Winter windflower is one of the early-flowering bulbous plants. They produce beautiful flowers in soft tints of white, pink and blue and are often planted beneath trees or shrubs. If you plant them this autumn, they will form a beautiful carpet of flowers within a few years.

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2. Glory-of-the-Snow (Chionodoxa)

This whimsical little bulbous plant emerges so early in the spring that it sometimes pushes its way through the snow. Glory-of-the-snow requires no special maintenance and can easily increase in numbers from year to year.

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3. Spring snowflake or Summer snowflake (Leucojum)

Leucojum is called both Spring snowflake as well as Summer snowflake. This is because one species (Leucojum vernum) flowers in the spring and the other (Leucojum aestivum) flowers during the summer. Their delicate white flowers look a lot like those of snowdrops. Even so, they are not the same. You can recognise Leucojum by its petals that are all the same length and by the green spots at the tips of the petals.

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4. Snowdrop (Galanthus)

Every year, it’s exciting to discover the first snowdrops in the garden. They can be flowering as early as February. Planting snowdrops is not difficult, and once established, they will produce more plants year after year.

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5. Spanish bluebells (Hyacinthoides)

Spanish bluebells are available in several lovely pastel colours. These Spanish bluebells can be planted anywhere in the garden. They will put on a delightful show wherever you plant them: the border, beneath trees and shrubs, and in the grass.

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6. Striped squill (Puschkinia)

Puschkinia libanotica produces little bluish-white flowers from February to April. Planting large numbers of them beneath trees and shrubs creates an impressive sight.

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7. Nodding Star-of-Bethlehem (Ornithogalum nutans)

The peculiar name of Ornithogalum comes from ornithos (Greek for ‘bird’) and gala which is Greek for ‘milk’. Nutans comes from nuto (Latin) and means ‘nodding’ which refers to the nodding flowers of this plant. Nodding Star-of-Bethlehem is perfect for naturalising in sunny meadows such as in an orchard, or beneath deciduous shrubs.

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8. Chequered fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)

The flowers of these plants look like the eggs of lapwings, hence their common name. Their white and lilac flowers add a splendid colour to the garden. The Chequered fritillary naturalises quickly to form a beautiful blanket of flowers and will also thrive in partial shade.

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