Little jewels of the garden, grape hyacinths burst forth in the spring as a low carpet of intense color, usually a glorious shade of blue. True blue is an elusive goal in most gardens - muscari are the answer. As an extra bonus, these little lovelies are remarkably inexpensive.

Hailing from woodlands and stony slopes of southwest Asia and the Mediterranean, this group of tough plants asks only for reasonably good drainage and a fair amount of light. And they're not even fussy about those requirements. In return they'll bloom year after year, last for weeks and spread gently to create intense patches of rich color. They're even deer and rodent resistant.

If these aren't a part of your garden already, here's your chance to fix that. We can't imagine spring without the cool blue of grape hyacinths; they come with our highest recommendation.