The checkered lily (Fritillaria meleagris) blooms in mid-spring with purple or white geometrically patterned bell-shaped flowers. It's unusual among bulbs because it prefers moist soil and partial shade.

WHILE TULIPS are the rock stars of the bulb world, the more diminutive bulbs are the ones most often cherished by experienced gardeners. And not because they're obscure, black or hard to grow, but for very good reasons that have nothing to do with exclusivity.

Many of these so-called minor bulbs are easier to plant because they're so tiny you don't need to dig much of a hole. The scoop-and-scatter technique — dig a shallow trough and toss a bunch in — results in the most pleasing effect. With clever planning, it's possible to have one little beauty or another in bloom from January through June. If correctly sited, these bulbs are truly perennial, coming back more plentifully every spring.

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Now In Bloom Japanese flowering quince (Chaenomeles japonica) are rock-hardy, prickly and old-fashioned, but offer early, elegant flowers and branches ideal for flower arranging. Cut early and brought into a warm room, the flowers open happily indoors. To avoid these thorny shrubs growing into a thicket, try espaliering them against a house or wall. The species (above) is warm salmon pink; 'Rowallane' is the darkest red; 'Jet Trail' is a low-grower with white flowers.

Although I love every daffodil on the planet, I have to admit some are more special than others. A drift of tiny, sweet-smelling Narcissus 'Baby Moon' makes the tall, rigid daffodil 'King Alfred' appear static and bloated. Miniature narcissus are usually less than 6 inches and their flowers no larger than a teaspoon. Their tendency to spread when sited in full sun and well-drained soil makes up quickly for their small stature. You can expect little narcissus to naturalize readily to form pools of color in the spring landscape. Earliest blooming are golden 'Tete a Tete' and 'February Gold' with butter-yellow flowers. Mid-season bloomer 'Minnow' has white petals fluffed around yellow centers; flowering later is 'Pencrebar,' a ruffly double saffron color that is especially fragrant.

Shy snowdrops bloom as early as January, their pure-white, drooping flowers undeterred by winter cold. Galanthus ikariae grows into fat clumps of dark-green foliage dripping little white bells. G. elwesii, known as the giant snowdrop, is only 9 inches high, telling you how petite most snowdrops are. Its blue-green twisted foliage and relatively larger flowers have a bit more presence in the landscape than its tiny cousins.

Supremely, sweetly pretty are the Persian violets, or Cyclamen coum. Their winged little flowers, in white, pink or magenta, float above silver mottled leaves. These bloom December through March, disappearing over the summer; the leaves show up again in autumn. Cyclamen coum is happy to be planted in shady, droughty parts of the garden, and will spread to form colonies beneath old cedars, firs and maples where few flowers will survive, let alone bloom.

No bulb spreads more readily than the dwarf Crocus tommasinianus. It's the perfect bulb for romantic sheets of silver to purple blossoms in fields or lawns or beneath deciduous trees. The showiest of these little crocus are 'Whitwell Purple' and 'Barr's Purple,' both glossily, deeply plum-colored.

Erythronium revolutum is a Northwest native with windswept petals and reptilian-patterned leaves especially showy for so diminutive a plant.

By late March and April the dog-tooth violets or trout lilies are coming into full, spectacular bloom. They are uniquely pretty with their windswept, uplifted petals and reptilian-mottled leaves. Erythronium 'Pagoda' has soft yellow flowers in April. E. revolutum is one of our showiest Northwest natives, with hot-pink flowers dripping yellow anthers, rising above a swell of darkly patterned leaves.

Fritillaria are a widely varied genus, with flowers ranging from flamboyant to self-effacing. These quietly beautiful checkered lilies, Fritillaria meleagris, are my favorite little bulbs. The delicate flowers are so sheer the early spring sun glows through the petals. The flowers nod on narrow wisps of stems, but have no reason for such modesty because their clear checkered pattern is lovely. They grow nearly a foot tall, will naturalize in grass, prefer some shade and come in colors from white through purple-brown.

Bulb-blooming time will be followed by catalogs for summer ordering and fall planting. To find some of these special little bulbs, take a look at Brent and Becky's Bulbs, 804-693-3966 (brentandbeckysbulbs.com) whose colorful catalog and Web page are packed with expert information; Van Engelen Inc. at 860-567-8734 (www.vanengelen.com) or Daffodil Mart (800-255-2852), which used to be owned by Brent and Becky but was bought out by White Flower Farms.

Valerie Easton is a Seattle free-lance writer and contributing editor for Horticulture magazine. Her e-mail address is valeaston@comcast.net.