Spring-flowering bulbous plants to naturalise in grass

Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis) Find a warm position, so that the February flowers open and allow the bees access. Ripe seeds are a pale brown and can be scattered.

The Pyrenean Fritillary (Fritillaria pyrenaica) This more-drought tolerant, burnished fritillary makes a show among cowslips in my garden. It self-seeds and forms colonies.

Crocus vernus

A March-flowering crocus from the alpine pastures of the Alps, Pyrenees and Balkans. It’s strong enough to push through grass and clumps up well.

Camassia leichtlinii Caerulea Group

This spire of rich lavender blue stars opens in May or June – a graceful taller addition to any bulb meadow.

Narcissus ‘WP Milner’ Native daffodils are expensive, but this widely available pre-1869 variety is a wildling lookalike with wispy, pale-yellow petals swept over a darker trumpet.

Chionodoxa forbesii Stems of up to 15 violet-blue flowers, zoned in white, allow this to stand out well. Scillas will also naturalise – but avoid the thuggish S. bithynica.

Snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) This is a plant of lowland damp pasture, so the chequered flowers only thrive if there’s enough moisture in your ground.

Tulipa sylvestris

A very gentle yellow tulip suffused in green, so a perfect foil for blue bulbs. The nodding stems curtsey in the wind, but it may need replanting.