Scilla is one of the first perennials to bloom every spring, bringing with it brilliant blue or white flowers to brighten up gardens after a long winter. Here at Assiniboine Park, blue scilla variants are in bloom at the English Garden entrance by the Boy with the Boot, and white scilla are in full bloom scattered throughout the English Garden. The white variants are also budding in the shade garden portion of the Leo Mol Sculpture Garden.

Scilla plants grow to be only about 3 – 8 inches tall, but typically make up for their small size in quantity and beauty in the form of bell-shaped, dainty, blue or white flowers.

Bulbs should be planted 3 – 5 inches deep in full sun or partial shade in the fall before the ground freezes. Since the bulbs and plants aren’t very large, most gardeners will plant several bulbs in order to make a bright and colourful impact with the spring blooms.

Scilla are extremely hardy and generally low maintenance. Appropriate for Manitoba springs in which temperatures can drop below freezing at night, the flowers are capable of blooming through frost. The bulbs need to be watered regularly when planted in the fall, but do not require watering in the spring.

Once the plant has finished flowering and the foliage is gone, the bulbs will remain dormant underground until the next spring.