I love late winter in Houston. Especially when I start seeing the little white bell shaped flowers I call Snowdrops poking their heads up from the mass of bright green leaves. It is a sure signs that spring is nearly here! A couple of years ago my husband gave me a mossy boulder as a gift. He saw it at Cowboy Trucking and sent me a picture saying do you want me to get you a big rock! I said yes of course and honestly I do prefer natural boulders to diamonds.  He was actually just teasing me but I kept asking him if it was still there? One day he said do you still want that boulder? If you can find a place for it I will get it for you. Knowing moving it was not going to be easy I decided to put in in our right of way strip between my lovely old sycamore trees.

In the fall I planted bulbs around the boulder. Here you see them in their second year. Those are my Snowdrops in the foreground and Daffodils behind. I planted 3 varieties of daffodils so they would bloom in succession. We just had a month of bright yellow blooms that were so cheerful during all the grey rainy days. The daffodils are almost done now. But the Snowdrops are just beginning. Our neighborhood is full of walkers of every kind; couples, some with children and most with dogs.  I always hope they enjoy the ever changing display around my big mossy boulder.

Many flowering bulbs don’t do well in Houston because of our mild winters and hot humid summers. I found a wonderful company out of Southern California that sells bulbs that do well in hot climates. Easy to Grow Bulbs. That is where I got my Snowdrop bulbs. I planted them in November. Snowdrops are also known as Snowflakes. The botanical name is Leucojum. They are considered heirloom bulbs because they have naturalized in many old Southern gardens. They can handle our heavy clay soil and even do well in shade. They are wonderfully rewarding as they come back every year in ever increasing numbers. You can divide them and spread around your garden or shared some with friends.

These are Leucojum Gravetye Giant. Here is the description from the Easy to Grow website.

“Dependably lovely, Giant Snowflake is a plant that earns its keep in gardens across the country, performing beautifully from Maine to Florida to southern California. It flowers over a long period in the mid to late spring, spanning the period between early daffodils and the first azaleas and summer roses. White 1 1/2” bell shaped flowers are produced on numerous gracefully arching stems. The tips of the flower petals are jauntily decorated with a series of oval green dots. When happy, giant snowflakes naturalize and form large clumps, thriving for years without needing to be divided. This variety produces the largest blooms of any in this group and is one of the few bulbs that will perform well in heavy, moist soil. Endangered in its Mediterranean homeland, these bulbs are nursery propagated and not collected from the wild. “

Common Name:	Giant Snowflake, Summer Snowflake
Botanical Name:	Leucojum aestivum Gravetye Giant
Exposure:	Full sun to light or dappled shade
Hardiness:	Zones 4-9
Height:	16-20″
Color:	White bell-shaped flowers with green polka dot trim, lightly scented
Bloom Season:	Mid spring
Bulb/Plant Size:	14/15 cm
Number:	50 bulbs