It's not too late to plant these bulbs

As long as the ground isn't frozen, there's still time to plant spring-flowering bulbs. Here are three unusual favorites.

New Year’s Eve was so mild in Virginia that I was able to shoo away some oak leaves and find unfrozen soil. As a bulb fanatic, I find that it’s easy to buy more than you have time to plant before the weather turns, well, wintry.

Here's what I planted, three of my favorite spring-flowering bulbs. They may not be well known, but deserve more attention.

Several years ago during an April visit to Brent and Becky’s Bulbs, a treasure caught my eye. It was a little daffodil with erect stems and very lax leaves -- Narcissus henriquesii -- and it was offered in their fall catalog. Hooray! [See photo above.]

Then there is the fragrant golden-yellow Muscari (grape hyacinth), Muscari macrocarpum, which develops the most fascinating seed structure, . It’s very short, like many Muscari, so it's best to plant it where lying face down on the ground will not be a subject of neighborhood speculation. Well worth the effort.

Last for today is Nectaroscordum siculum ssp. 'Bulgaricum' – a very interesting flower reminiscent of the alliums. It’s perfect for a meadow planting, a favorite of pollinating insects and looks beautiful with emerging grasses. Sweet dreams!

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Donna Williamson blogs regularly at Diggin' It. She's a master gardener, garden designer, and garden coach. She has taught gardening and design classes at the State Arboretum of Virginia, Oatlands in Leesburg, and Shenandoah University. She’s also the founder and editor of Grandiflora Mid-Atlantic Gardening magazine, and the author of “The Virginia Gardener’s Companion: An Insider’s Guide to Low Maintenance Gardening in Virginia.” She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. To read more by Donna, click here.