Pollinator Friendly

Leucojum aestivum (summer snowflake) is a quietly distinguished bulb for gardens that favour a little moisture and a natural, unforced elegance. In spring it sends up slender stems carrying nodding, bell-shaped white flowers, each neatly finished with fresh green tips—particularly lovely threaded through damp borders or at the edge of woodland.

Clump-forming and fully hardy, it settles in beautifully over time and is well suited to naturalising where conditions are kind. Plant in autumn and allow it to establish; the effect in drifts is gentle, poised, and effortlessly refined.

• Flowering: March to May
• Height: 50cm
• Position: Borders, woodland edges, damp ground, beside ponds
• Pollinator friendly: Yes

Fritillaria imperialis 'Rubra' brings unmistakable theatre to the spring border: tall, assured stems crowned with a whorl of glossy green leaves, then finished with a dramatic ring of rich scarlet, bell-shaped blooms topped by a jaunty tuft of leafy bracts. It is a wonderfully architectural choice for naturalistic planting as well as more formal schemes, rising confidently through fresh spring growth.

Plant in autumn in fertile, well-drained loam and choose a sheltered position to protect those statuesque stems. The bulbs are best handled with care and planted deeply for a secure, long-lived display. Once settled, 'Rubra' will reward you year after year, taking a little time to build to its full presence.

Ranunculus asiaticus ‘Elegance Rosa Striato’ is a wonderfully refined choice for spring colour, with rose-pink blooms brushed and striped with deeper magenta. Part of the coveted Elegance Series, it brings a tailored, couture finish to pots, and a gracious lift to the front of borders.

Planted in autumn in a sheltered spot, these top-size corms produce clump-forming plants with mid-green foliage and beautifully bowl-shaped flowers—ideal for cutting when the buds are just beginning to loosen.

• Colour: Rose pink with magenta striping
• Flowering: March to June
• Height: 30–45cm
• Best for: Cutting, containers, beds & borders

Scilla siberica is one of those quietly brilliant early-spring bulbs that makes a garden look effortlessly considered. Its vivid blue, nodding flowers are carried on fine stems above narrow green leaves, creating a light, natural effect that sits beautifully in grass, beneath shrubs, or among gravel and stone.

Ideal for naturalising, this small bulb is best planted in generous drifts for a painterly sweep of colour just as the season begins to wake.

• Colour: Blue (Purples & Blues)
• Flowering: March–April
• Height: 20cm
• Best for: naturalising, grass, gravel and rock gardens, containers, underplanting shrubs
• Pollinator friendly: Yes

Crocus 'Aqua' is a refined, early-spring crocus in violet-purple with warm orange centres—just the thing for threading through lawns, gravel and the very front of the border when the garden is beginning to stir again.

Neat, goblet-shaped blooms sit above green foliage marked with a silvery stripe, forming tidy clumps that look particularly smart in pots by the door, scattered through a rockery, or allowed to naturalise beneath deciduous trees.

• Colour: Violet-purple with orange centers
• Best for: Naturalising in lawns, rockery & gravel gardens, pots & containers, and front-of-border detail
• Season: Plant in autumn for flowers from late winter into spring
• Growing level: Easy, fully hardy, and reliably perennial

Narcissus 'Pueblo' is a quietly elegant spring Narcissus, valued for its poised, upright habit and clean, luminous colouring. Planted in generous drifts through borders and beds, or arranged with restraint in smart pots by the door, it brings a composed sense of structure just as the garden begins to properly wake.

With a refined trumpet form in white with pale yellow centres, 'Pueblo' is equally at home in the cutting garden, where its fresh, clear note pairs beautifully with early foliage and other spring bulbs.

• Colour: White with pale yellow centres
• Flower shape: Trumpet
• Height: 35cm
• Bulb size supplied: 12/14
• Good for: Pots & containers, borders & beds, cutting garden
• Wildlife & garden resilience: Pollinator friendly; deer resistant

Harding & Bloom notes: For the most natural effect, plant in small clusters and repeat them through a scheme. In containers, use fresh compost and ensure excellent drainage for a crisp, reliable show.

Allium 'Party Balloons' brings a buoyant note to late spring planting schemes, lifting neat, airy globes on slender stems for a finish that feels both architectural and light. It sits beautifully among tulips and cottage perennials, threading height through borders without heaviness, and it makes a rather composed cut stem for simple vases.

Plant in autumn and allow it to settle in quietly; by late spring into early summer it provides a refined punctuation of purple, with a crisp, upright habit that looks especially smart repeated in groups.

• Seasonal interest: flowers from May–June
• Form: elegant globe heads on upright stems
• For: borders, containers and cut flowers
• Wildlife: pollinator friendly; typically avoided by deer

Fritillaria persica 'Alba' is a quietly dramatic Persian lily, sending up tall, upright spires lined with creamy, green-flushed bells from early to mid-spring. Its elegant, architectural form threads beautifully through well-considered borders and makes a refined statement in generous pots, particularly against darker foliage and stone.

Best planted in autumn into fertile, moisture-retentive yet sharply well-drained soil, this fully hardy perennial settles into a clump-forming habit over time, rewarding patience with increasingly poised spring displays.

• Colour: Creamy green
• Flower shape: Bell-shaped
• Height: 50–100cm
• Flowering: March–May
• Position: South- or west-facing in full sun

Hyacinthus orientalis 'Blue Star' is a beautifully traditional spring hyacinth, prized for its dense, perfumed spires in a clear sky-blue, delicately traced with deeper blue veining. Rising neatly above fresh, strap-shaped foliage, it brings a poised, polished note to borders and containers alike.

Plant in autumn and allow the bulbs to settle through winter; come March and April, 'Blue Star' offers a refined flourish that sits particularly well beneath roses and shrubs, or arranged in pots by a doorway where its fragrance can be properly enjoyed.

• Colour: Blue-purple
• Flowering period: March–April
• Height: 25cm
• Best in: borders, pots and containers; sheltered spot

Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’ is a beautifully poised, large-cupped daffodil—creamy white petals surrounding a softly primrose-yellow cup that gradually mellows towards ivory as the flower matures. The effect is subtle, luminous, and wonderfully versatile.

Reliable and floriferous, it settles quickly into borders, threads neatly through shrubs, and looks particularly smart in generous pots by the door. Planted in drifts, it also naturalises gracefully through grass for a spring display that feels effortless yet considered.

• Flower colour: Creamy white with primrose-yellow cup (fading paler)
• Form: Cup Shaped; large-cupped
• Height: 40cm
• Spread: 15cm
• Bulb size: 12/14
• Position: Borders, under shrubs, containers, naturalising in grass
• Hardiness: Fully Hardy
• Pollinators: Pollinator Friendly

Narcissus 'Carlton' is a steadfast classic: a large-cupped daffodil in clear, sunny yellow, finished with a slightly paler trumpet. It has a pleasingly robust presence in the spring garden, returning year after year with an air of effortless reliability.

Exceptionally versatile, it settles happily into borders and underplanting, and looks equally smart in pots by the front door. For a more natural look, scatter through grass and allow the clumps to build over time for an unforced sweep of colour in March and April.

• Flowering: March–April
• Height: 50cm
• Bulb size: 12/14
• Hardiness: Fully Hardy
• Growing skill: Easy
• Also noted for: AGM, Pollinator Friendly, Deer Resistant

Muscari armeniacum is the sort of spring bulb one comes to rely upon: neat, clump-forming foliage topped with dense, upright spires of violet-blue bells, each delicately tipped in white. Thread it through borders for a crisp early lift, tuck it beneath shrubs and roses, or let it quietly naturalise in grass where it will settle in and return with increasing charm.

Exceptionally easy to grow and fully hardy, it is a refined little workhorse for pots, pathways and rock gardens—particularly handsome when planted in generous drifts.

• Colour: Violet-blue with white tips
• Flowering: March to May
• Height: 20cm
• Best for: Containers, borders, underplanting, naturalising in grass

Fritillaria persica ‘Ivory Bells’ is a beautifully poised fritillary, valued for its tall, architectural spires of softly nodding, green-tinted ivory bells. Rising above cool grey-green foliage, it lends a composed, contemporary note to spring borders and looks equally distinguished when threaded through meadow-style planting.

Plant in autumn into fertile, well-drained soil and allow it a little time to settle; by its second or third season it will reward you with a statuesque presence from April through to June. An assured choice for gardeners who appreciate structure as much as flower.

• Quiet drama for late spring — elegant, bell-shaped flowers in refined ivory with a fresh green touch
• Superb vertical form — ideal for borders, naturalising and handsome containers
• Pollinator friendly — a welcome stop for spring-foraging insects