Carefree bulbs
Jane McGary (Sat, 03 May 2008 04:20:21 PDT)

I live in the Pacific Northwest, but at 1600 feet elevation near Mount
Hood, with well-drained mineral soil and about 45 inches of rain per year,
usually none of it in the summer. Only part of my garden is irrigated
during the dry season. Usual winter lows in the mid-teens F.

Here are the bulbs that have naturalized in the garden to the extent of
self-sowing or appearing to be so well settled that, should I abandon the
garden, they would survive until smothered by native vegetation:

Crocus tommasinianus, C. speciosus, C. vernus ssp. vernus and ssp.
albiflorus, C. pulchellus (!), C. kotschyanus, C. ochroleucus (!!)
Dichelostemma ida-maia
Triteleia peduncularis, T. laxa
Colchicum: all the larger hybrids, and a few small ones, notably C. procurrens
Sternbergia lutea
Puschkinia scilloides
Chionodoxa luciliae (blue and white forms), C. siehei, C. sardensis
Hyacinthoides non-scripta
Asphodelus albus
Paradisea lusitanica
Anthericum liliago
Anemone nemorosa, A. blanda, A. ranunculoides
Iris reticulata
Narcissus, all the hardy hybrids and, in the rock garden, N. rupicola, N.
calcicola, N. triandrus
Camassia quamash, C. leichtlinii, C. cusickii
Cyclamen hederifolium, C. coum, C. repandum, C. pseudibericum
Nectaroscordum siculum
Allium membranaceum, A. unifolium, A. moly, A. neapolitanum
Notholirion thomsonianum
Cardiocrinum giganteum
Veratrum californicum, Disporum smithii, Trillium ovatum, Dicentra formosa,
Smilacina (Maianthemum) racemosum, S. stellata, and Maianthemum dilatatum
are native to the site.
Convallaria majalis
Galanthus nivalis, G. plicatus, G. 'Atkinsii', G. fosteri

In addition, many of the species Paeonia that are well established have
self-sown a little, even P. lutea with its huge seeds, which must be moved
around by squirrels.
Jane McGary