There is something special about the first flowers of the year, when the surrounding garden is still brown and bare. Foremost among these are bulbs: little parcels of promise we plant in autumn in anticipation of treasures to come. Late winter bulbs tend to be smaller and less showy than those that follow in the spring, but they are all the lovelier for it.
There is still time to plant bulbs, and they are on sale in garden centres now. One of the first to bloom is chionodoxa, also known as glory of the snow. Its flowers are usually lilac blue, although there are also pale pink varieties such as Rose Queen and Pink Giant.
Chionodoxa luciliae grows to about 15cm tall and prefers full sun and well-drained soil. Also in this genus is the Siberian squill (Scilla siberica), which is a little taller at around 20cm, with blue nodding flowers. Colourful meadow: Bright winter aconites and Crocus tommasinianus.
Scilla 'Tubergeniana' has paler blue flowers, with a faint darker line down the centre of each petal. The delicate light blue Lebanon striped squill (Puschkinia libanotica) is ideal in a rock garden. Snowdrops grow from bulbs, too, although they are best planted from divisions 'in the green' just after they have finished flowering.
There are a huge variety, from the common snowdrop Galanthus nivalis which looks wonderful as a woodland carpet, to rare collectibles bought as individual specimens. The earliest crocus to bloom is tommasinianus. It has lilac flowers that open to greet the winter sunshine.
