Grape Hyacinths (Muscari armenaicum) are not only ravishing- they're cheap as chips to buy by the bagful as autumn planted bulbs. They seem to do fine in any sunny or semi-sunny spot and require no attention once in the ground. They're not rare, who cares?
 Besides the spikes of blue flowers in spring another thing I like about them is that they reverse the usual order where bulbs are concerned and come into leaf in autumn. Each bulb throws up a cluster of long narrow leaves which last through winter and for a while after flowering. I wouldn't grow them for their foliage alone -which is "grassy"- but I treat them as a kind of groundcover in places. I'd rather see some green than bare earth over the winter months. They're ideal for filling in spots in spring ahead of larger summer flowering perennials.
 In a book I have somewhere there is a photograph of a whole hillside covered with them in the Taurus Mountains of Southern Turkey which would be a sight to behold. On a somewhat smaller scale the ones above are a cheery sight in my front garden.