Famed English Bluebells have created shimmering azure woodlands throughout the British Isles since as early as 1580. Previously classified as Scilla non-scripta or Endymion non-scripta, this slightly fragrant, prized deer- and rodent-resistant naturalizer has strappy foliage and pendant, bell-shaped, deep violet-blue flowers on just one side of its stem, causing each flowering raceme to arch gracefully. Hyacinthoides non-scripta prefers a bit of light shade or dappled sunlight. When it’s really happy where planted, it can naturalize by both bulb offsets (baby bulbs on the sides of the mother bulb you’ve planted) and self-sowing seed. Hyacinthoides non-scripta may be distinguished from its cousin, Hyacinthoides hispanica Excelsior, by its deeper violet-blue color, its soft fragrance and the fact that its florets are borne on just the one side of its arching stem. It is also slightly less hardy: it is good from horticultural zones 5 through 7 (or 8 with protection), while H. hispanica Excelsior thrives from horticultural zone 3 through 8. You’ll need about nine bulbs per square foot. (Square footage is determined multiplying the planting site’s length times its width.) In woodland settings, you can also scatter-plant the bulbs about for a more natural look.

Bulb size: 8 cm/up. Full to partial sunlight. Bloom time in horticultural zone 5: May. Plant 4″ deep and 4″ apart. Horticultural zones 5-7. Height: 18″.