This is the original, blissfully fragrant, wild white freesia that naturalizes happily in Mediterranean climates with mild, dry summers. It’s also “entirely at home in the South, returning faithfully,” says Scott Ogden in Garden Bulbs for the South, so expert gardeners may want to try it there, too. Smaller than modern forms, 6-12”, zones 8S/8-10WC, grown for us in California. Chart to compare.

One of our perennial bestsellers, this odd little bulb has nodding flowers of maroon and dusky rose (or occasionally white), and each is checkered! Grown since colonial days, it prefers light shade and cool, moist sites. Our bulbs are wax-dipped to preserve their vitality. We forgot to plant some until February one year and they still bloomed! Aka guinea-hen flower, 10-12”, zones 4-7S/8WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

If you like traditional snowdrops (and who doesn’t?), we bet you’ll love G. elwesii. Don’t be scared off by its common name, giant snowdrop. It simply looks like an especially robust, well-grown G. nivalis and blooms even earlier. Animal-proof, 6-8”, zones 5-8aS/9aWC (more heat-tolerant than G. nivalis), from Holland. Chart to compare.

Beloved for centuries, this woodland wildflower is an absolute essential. Its brave little bells ring in the spring well before crocus, animals leave it alone, and it multiplies without care in light shade. 5-6”, zones 3-7aS/8aWC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

As seen in Fine Gardening magazine! This is NOT the puny, cheap impostor you’ll get virtually everywhere else, but Southern-grown corms of the authentic, deep magenta heirloom that’s winter hardy to zone 6 and multiplies happily year after year. A wild, perennial glad, it blooms with graceful, orchid-like flowers in earliest summer as it has since colonial days. Bill Welch of Texas A&M calls it “a delightful plant often found in old cottage gardens,” Christopher Lloyd planted it lavishly at Great Dixter, and in fall 2006 we honored it as our Heirloom Bulb of the Year. Aka G. communis var. byzantinus ‘Cruentus’, 24-36”, zones 6-9aS/11aWC, from Louisiana and Texas. Chart to compare.

Rugged and fool-proof, this easy classic thrives virtually everywhere. “The stately Spanish bluebell is found in all old Southern gardens,” Elizabeth Lawrence wrote, and it’s hardy north to zone 5, too (or even 3, some say!). ‘Excelsior’ dates back back to 1906 and is the most vigorous and floriferous form. A.k.a. wood hyacinth, squill, late spring blooming, 15-18”, zones 5-8S/10WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

True stock of this legendary wildflower is all but impossible to get today (it crosses too freely with Spanish bluebells in the Dutch bulb fields), but ours come from a small nursery in Wales where it’s native and still 100% pure. With slender, arching, honey-scented blooms, it’s easy to see why it’s been so well-loved for so long — though please note that unless you live in a mild, moist climate, Spanish bluebells (above) are much easier to grow. 12-15”, zones 6-7S/9WC, from cool, green Wales. Chart to compare.

Animal-proof! Above leaves that look like a daffodil’s, clusters of white bells tipped with green dots dangle gracefully. Standing 18-24 inches tall, ‘Gravetye Giant ’ is the hardiest, most floriferous snowflake, introduced in 1924 from Gravetye Manor (say GRAVE-tie), the home of William Robinson, “father of the English perennial border.” Aka snowdrops or dewdrops (especially in the South), zones 5-9S/9WC, from Holland. Chart to compare.

True stock! This is the original Southern heirloom – a triploid, which gives it extra vigor – not the smaller, earlier-blooming Japanese diploid that most sources offer today. Legend has it that it was introduced into New Bern, NC, by a US Navy captain in the 1850s and spread across the country from there. With clusters of exotic, coral-red flowers, it lights up the late summer garden like fireworks, even in light shade. 18-24”, zones 7(some say 6!)-10S/10WC, from Texas and Louisiana. Chart to compare.

In late summer, bare stalks rocket up out of nowhere, opening into shimmering, lavender-pink, amaryllis-like flowers. Also known as naked ladies and resurrection lily, this Asian wildflower is “nearly ideal for the middle and upper South,” Scott Ogden writes in Garden Bulbs for the South. It blooms here in chilly zone-6 Ann Arbor, too, if you can give it a sunny site with sandy soil that stays relatively dry in summer — and patience as it re-establishes itself. 36”, zones 6-7bS/8WC, from North Carolina. Chart to compare.