Snowdrops are the earliest harbinger of spring - white pendant flowers nodding above the snow in February, sometimes pushing through a light frost without complaint. They naturalise freely in light woodland, under deciduous trees, and in lawn margins, forming expanding drifts over years. Plant bulbs 'in the green' (immediately after flowering, while still leafy) for best establishment; dry bulbs planted in autumn are much less reliable.
Snowdrops are best appreciated in mass plantings where the scale compensates for their small size. They are too delicate for cutting and too short-lived out of the ground to be worth the effort - enjoy them where they grow.
The bulbs are toxic, and deer, rabbits, voles and squirrels leave them alone, which makes snowdrops a good edging around crocus and tulips. The flowers have a faint honey scent; it's the bulb's chemistry, not a smell, that keeps animals away.