Snow On The Mountain and Grape Hyacinths

   A lot of people get confused over this one, as their are two totally different plants called by this name. One is  Euphorbia marginata. It is an annual that grows 18"-24" tall. Its picture can be found HERE.There is a warning with this one that handling can cause skin irritation or allergic reaction. It is a beautiful plant. But I think I prefer "my" Snow on The Mountain", a very popular ground cover. Its Latin name is Aegopodium podagraria variegatum, or commonly "Bishop's Weed". Most people hear "weed" and shy away. This is a spreader, but I dont consider it aggressively so, and it is easily removed from where its not wanted.  I have it growing now between my garage and cement  walk. It is filling in this area nicely, and believe me, the soil is terrible. These were planted here long before I started getting into amendments . Lots of rock and clay. It only gets about 10" in height, but later will throw out a few stems with greenish/white flowers on it that appears to be Queen Ann's Lace flower. if you remove these flower heads before they go to seed, you can control the spread better. It is rabbit and deer resistant and extremely drought tolerant. it can take full sun to full shade, and is hardy zones 3-9.

 have mine planted with Grape Hyacinths, and the contrast between the deep purple of these with the bright green leaves with cream margins, looks fantastic together.

This is a close-up of the Grape Hyacinth, Muscari armeniacum. Notice the pale lavender/white ring around the rim? There is also a light green stripe that runs down the center vein of the leaf. These little bulbs are also pretty tough.They only grow about 6" to 8" tall for me.They are hardy from zone 4-8b. Seeds are easily collected when dried. They also spread, but usually are almost done blooming before the yard needs mowed. They are a very nice spring flower and look fantastic among other spring bloomers. I especially like them among my Snow On The Mountain.