Prefers cool places, in short grass, under shrubs, deciduous trees or even the shady side of a cedar hedge. May be the most shade-tolerant bulb but also performs well in sun if the soil is not too dry. Amazingly hardy and an excellent naturalizer. Very prolific, can form great drifts. Lightly scented; beloved by bees. See if you can glimpse bees filling up on this blue pollen!
6–8" tall. Early Spring blooms, Z2-8. 7-8cm bulbs.
The Royal General Bulbgrowers Association in Holland (Koninklijke Algemeene Vereeniging voor Bloembollencultuur, or KAVB) puts this large group of diverse flowers into a boring catch-all category: Miscellaneous Bulbs. The expensive catalogs call them specialty or accent bulbs; some call them minor or dwarf bulbs (even though some of the fritillaries are huge!); Louise Beebe Wilder covered most of them in her 1936 classic Adventures with Hardy Bulbs. Whatever you call them, most are uncommonly sweet, delicate, colorful, and completely welcome in spring.