Relatively narrow, glossy green leaves (without a pale silver stripe down the midrib) appear shortly before the white narrowly obovate petals that open on warm days to display the inner petals with their narrow green V marking and honey fragrance. Snowdrops are ideal selections for late winter and early spring color under deciduous trees. Their life cycle, adapted to deciduous forests, is completed by the time oaks and maples leaf out in spring. Unlike other bulbs, they need a consistently moist (not soggy) soil during summer dormancy and can tolerate some clay. Compounds in their sap provide resistance to freezing temperatures and deter hungry deer and rabbits.