While walking the other day, I saw a grouping of snowdrops, Galanthus nivalis, that lit up the landscape on a blustery, bleak winter’s day.

Snowdrops bloom incredibly early, before daffodils. This picture was taken in mid-March in USDA Hardiness Zone 6.

The grouping is on the edge of a New England Forest in humusy soil. Partial shade and organic soil are their preferred location.

Snowdrops grow about six inches tall in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 7. They bloom early in the season, long before daffodils and forsythia bloom.

I wonder how they would look as an underplanting for daffodils There might be a slight overlap in flowering times.

If you will plant snowdrops, purchase and plant many bulbs in groupings. They will not look natural if you stagger bulbs around the landscape.

You can’t mistake snowdrop flowers once you know them!