reminds me of grape hyacinth ... muscari .... but a lot of the spring bulbs all look the same ....

put some in a glass of water.. and see if you can get them to bloom ...

but we need the info above ... ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=Muscari&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjMxrvs4I3TAhVk0oMKHSvBDtkQ_AUICSgC#tbm=isch&q=Muscari+bulbs&*

Thank you Floral and Ken for responding. I am in central New Jersey. There is no white stripe down the middle. I don't see any others like this one and it doesn't smell like onion - those I've learned to recognize and even enjoy the scent of as I mow them down (!)

I have had the garden for under a year so I'm not sure what they would've looked like had I let them be and was surprised when I dug up the bulbs. I am completely new to outdoor gardening and it's a little daunting and exciting at once, especially as the weather gets better.

Now that I look around, there are other similar looking plants in very random places around the garden. These do not small like the onions. Here they are:

In the grouping of three photos above, you have daffodils or narcissus in all 3 I am fairly sure. In the first photo of the three, you appear to have a single crocus with a white stripe down the leaves, just a bit down and to the right of the daffodils which have larger, flatter leaves.

The first photo, of the dug up clump, I would replant to see what happens. It might be star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum umbellatum, but it is difficult to tell. As things bloom, take photos with notes of where they are. You can transplant any that you want elsewhere either while green or after the foliage dies back (if you can still find them).

Top frame has a couple Crocus leaves underneath the bigger plant otherwise all the bigger taller ones in the shots are Daffodil plants. If you've been there long enough for them to have been in leaf last year, and been mowing all these bulbs off before they were ready to die down it will have had a weakening effect that will have been likely to start interfering with flowering. So you may not have seen flowers previously for that reason.

Thanks to all. New approach: I'll dig up and transplant any bulb whose shoots do not smell like onion!

The later photos are from really very random spots around the property - nowhere near an existing bed of any sort. But the house is almost 200 years old and I do think that at some point, someone gardened lovingly and energetically because there are some beautiful mature trees and bushes here.

Thanks again for all of your help!

even better ... dont dig up spring flowering bulbs... mark them to move at the appropriate time ...

they bloom in spring.. go figure on that ... then they stay green for 4 to 6 weeks .. STORING ENERGY FOR NEXT SPRING ... and then they die to the ground just about when the heat of the summer hits ...

the best time to dig them.. would be as the leaves are yellowing.. and then they can be stored dry.. like onions lets say ... and replanted in fall.. when they will grow new roots for next spring ...

by not doing it nearer the proper time.. you can either lose them ... or they may not flower ... the next year ...

the number one thing to learn.. out in the garden.. there is a proper time to do certain things .. its really not at your whim ... if you want to succeed ... you surely seem to have plenty of space.. to work around them for this season ...

besides.. if you let them bloom.. it will be easy to ID them ...

ken

ps: i dont see any of the flattish crocus bulbs in the first pic ... or you guys are confusing me as to which you are talking about .... they are not normally teardrop shaped ....

pps: those in the first pic.. regardless of what they are.. trust me.. that you left hundreds of them behind.. and probably across the path.. as you carried them around ... tiny babe versions can be pin head size ... and thats how they travel around ...

I have enlarged the first photo and I believe I can see the pale stripe, in which case you have Ornithogallum umbellatum, Star Of Bethlehem, a nuisance. The second set of pix are as others said. Narcissi and a Crocus. Both can be moved now. No need to wait for them to die back.

However, I agree with Ken. Stop digging things up before they are identified. You could be missing out on some nice plants. Live with your garden a full year before destroying anything other than definite weeds. Post here for ids as the season progresses.