Ornithogalum umbellatum

If you have a spot in the garden that you don't know what to do with, either in full sun or part shade, then the Star of Bethlehem, or Ornithogalum umbellatum, is just what you need. The smallest packet of bulbs will be sufficient to start you off, but the largest packet of bulbs will give you a gorgeous carpet of low-growing, grass-like leaves. They are greyish green, and generally fold back, flat to the soil. In mid- to late spring there are numerous white, starry flowers.

The backs of the petals are striped with pale grey-green. The flowers are arranged in loose heads, each bloom being held on a stalk, away from the stem; the stalks lowest down tend to be the longest, so the head is in a broad-based pyramid shape, wider than it is tall. Typically, between six and nine flowers are carried in each head.

Ornithogalum umbellatum looks wonderful when planted under deciduous trees and shrubs, or in large drifts on a sunny bank. Incidentally, the flowers have very precise habits, opening at 11 o'clock in the morning, and closing at 3 o'clock in the afternoon—time them! When open, they are loved by bees and other pollinators.