It's February and everyone is eagerly awaiting spring. Gardeners are yearning for the cheery, brightly colored blooms of daffodils and tulips, but they are still weeks away. However, several other early-blooming bulbs are available that can boost our spirits and get us enthused about the approaching gardening season. Unfortunately, except for crocus, most of these wonderful early-blooming bulbs are not well known.

A favorite of many gardeners is the snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis, which sometimes shows up weeks before crocuses do, often poking through a blanket of snow. Garden snowdrops are four to six inches tall and need to be planted in large numbers to have a dramatic effect. They look good under trees and shrubs, at the front of borders or in front of flowering shrubs, in lawns and along woodland paths, or in rock gardens mixed among other plantings.

Members of the amaryllis family, snowdrops have a one-inch long, nodding, three-lobed flower that hangs from a leafless stalk. Its outer petals are cupped like tiny spoons. Two or three very narrow leaves grow from the base of the plant. They prefer moist, humus-rich soil, and sun-dappled shade. Snowdrops naturalize very well by self-seeding or bulb offsets and can last a lifetime. They are normally ignored by deer and rodents. Hellebores are nice companion plants.

Giant snowdrops, Galanthus elwesii, flower even earlier than garden snowdrops. This species is taller than the garden variety and has larger flowers and leaves. It is not quite as winter hardy, but is somewhat more tolerant of heat. These five to twelve-inch plants produce two-inch long, milk-white flowers with spots of emerald green on their inner segments. Bluish-green, strap-like leaves grow from the base of the plant.

Another lovely plant frequently appearing while snow is still on the ground is Chionodoxa, commonly called Glory of the Snow because it is among the first bulbs to bloom in the spring. Glory of the Snow appears shortly after snowdrops bloom and produces star-shaped flowers that are a beautiful shade of blue with a white heart. They require almost no care, naturalize very easily and are avoided by deer and rodents.

Glory of the Snow is usually three to six inches tall, but taller varieties exist. Some cultivars are pure white (Alba) or pink and white (Pink Giant). This bulb prefers to be planted in full sun in a location with average, well-drained soil, but will grow in partial shade too. Each bulb produces two or three narrow leaves and a six-inch flower stalk topped by three to six star-like, upward facing flowers. Its foliage fades shortly after bloom and disappears by late spring when plants go into dormancy. Good planting sites are rock gardens, sunny woodland areas, or under large deciduous trees.

The bright yellow, fragrant flowers of Eranthis hyemalis (winter aconite) can also cover the ground when ice and snow are still present. Winter aconite blooms before crocus and features an upward-facing, buttercup-like flower on three or four-inch stalks. Lobed, green leaves emerge after the flowers to add a delicate, frilly accent to the landscape. Good naturalizers, these bulbs are best left undisturbed once planted. Winter aconite grows best in organically rich, moist, well-drained soil in full sun or part shade in an area protected from wind. The tubers should be soaked overnight before planting. These plants need consistent moisture year round and can be invasive.

Scilla siberica (Siberian squill) are extremely cold hardy, low-maintenance plants that naturalize rapidly from bulb offshoots or self-seeding. Each mature bulb produces three or four short scapes which carry one to three bell-shaped, deep blue flowers. A white variety is available also. The flowers appear in early spring shortly after snowdrops. Three or four strap-like, six-inch long leaves develop per bulb. They look wonderful massed in sweeping drifts in woodlands, naturalized areas, along shady banks, in groundcovers or naturalized in the lawn like crocus. Scilla is often confused with Glory of the Snow. Glory of the Snow flower petals are fused at the base while Scilla petals are separate, and Scilla stamens are blue while Glory of the Snow's are white.

Puschkinia scilloides (striped squill) resembles Scilla. Striped squill grows in small, four to six-inch clumps and prefers sandy or gritty soils. Each bulb produces two dark green, strap-shaped leaves and a flower scape bearing three to six blue or bluish-white, star-like flowers. Each flower petal has a blue inside center stripe, though some entirely white-petaled forms exist. The flowers are fragrant.

Iris reticulata is another early bloomer. These dwarf irises bloom after snowdrops, but before giant Dutch crocuses. Their striking flower is quite large in relationship to the plant as a whole and has a wonderful fragrance, somewhat like a violet. Reticulata irises can be white, blue, or purple and may have yellow markings. Their grass-like leaves elongate to fifteen inches after bloom, but disappear by late spring as plants go dormant. They prefer to stay relatively dry in summer so the bulbs set buds for the following year. If flowering has declined, the bulbs can be dug and divided after bloom. They will come back year after year and multiply, but new bulblets require several years to mature.

Perk up your early spring landscape by planting some of these unusual bulbs next fall.