Yes, snowdrops will work. Try some autumn crocus (both kinds) too. English Bluebells, although they tend to outcompete the grass. Ornithogalum is another very vigorous one. You can also try Scilla and Puschkinia which won't spread as quickly.

For spring color, Grape Hyacinths are good, too. They multiply like crazy and the foliage is nice. By the time they're done, the grass will be just about to outgrow it.

LILIES (L I L I E S).. obviously it takes about 4-6 months or longer for the stems to die back, but if you don't mind keeping part of your lawn unmowed for the season (with several acres maybe a good idea).. and lilies.. you can never have enough lilies...

(grape hyacinths as mentioned above are nice, too, but remember they put out foliage in late fall which makes mowing difficult from september through november. If you dont mow your lawn in fall then no biggie, you can grow them BUT THEN YOU CAN ALSO GROW LILIES.. but if you insist on mowing your lawn in fall, then grape hyacinths (and lilies) may not be your best choice). Grape hyacinths set foliage in late fall which stays through winter. In spring the plants flower and the foliage dies back. The problem with grape hyacinths in a lawn is that you can not mow the foliage in fall or you will kill the bulbs.

I am still chuckling from reading kdjoergensen's post. I planted some species tulips, Puschkinia and dwarf iris in the lawn. They look great, except dwarf iris sends up very tall skinny leaves.

I am planning to add more species tulips. I planted some Narcissus bulbocodium and Iphieon 'Rolph Feidler', but they didn't do well. My soil is too clayy. If you don't have rabbit 'infestation', try crocus.

Spanish or English bluebells look absolutely spectacular in a grass, but they bloom in mid-late May (for me) and it take another month for leaves to die.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I will definitely be stocking up on bulbs this fall. DH will be more than pleased to hear that he can't mow once the grape hyacinths come up in the fall. Actually we don't mow much in the fall anyways as grass growth slows down incredibly in the heat of the summer. One late summer mowing ought to be the end of it.

While we don't mind 6 weeks of no mowing in spring, I think lilies don't bloom until mid to late summer, at which point the grass would be 2 feet tall. I love lilies so they will have to stay in my garden bed.

This is going to be fun!

Leucojum vernum is also good in grass and is stock-proof. Should be hardy to zone 5. (Spring-flowering, tidier leaves than daffodils.) There's a recent posting 'in praise of'.

even if you mow, violets will survive. my mother enjoyed
seeing them each spring. She loved the wild pale ones and would not let me plant any colorful hybrids for her. Bill

Try Scilla siberica and hyacinthoides(spanish bluebells Hyacinthoides). Another wonderful one with crocus is pushkinia lobinatica, a beautiful palest blue stripes on white. I also grow Fritillaria meleagris and uva-vulpis in my lawn with the crocus and snowdrops.

George