How to Love Gardening When Winter Drags On and On

        “February and March are my favorite gardening months,” our good customer Carole Bolton wrote us last week – from snowed-in Coldwater, Michigan, where temperatures were well below freezing and the sun hadn’t been seen for days. Had she lost her mind? Quite the contrary! For years now, Carole has been forcing hyacinths indoors every winter – lots of hyacinths – and this year’s “are especially beautiful,” she wrote. “They’re healthy, tall and fully flowered. They make the freezing rain and weather advisories bearable.”
        To learn how to work magic like that yourself, see our Forcing How-To and our Forcing Newsletter Archives. (March 2011)

Hyacinth Fields Forever: A Snapshot of Paradise

        This past spring our friend Alan Shipp, the former potato farmer who supplies us with our rarest hyacinths, emailed us a special photo we thought you’d enjoy, especially now that it’s hyacinth-planting season. He wrote, “This photo by Tim Upson, Curator of the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, shows my hyacinth field after a small shower of rain. Isn’t it stunning?” (Oct. 2010)

In the Beginning: Double Hyacinths Go from Rejects to Super-Stars

       As Heidi Klum says on Project Runway, “In fashion, one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out.” But fashion cuts both ways, and what’s scorned or overlooked one day can become the coolest of cool. That’s what happened with double hyacinths which emerged from the compost pile to become, for much of the 18th and 19th centuries, the world’s most popular bulb. The story of their origins is told in an 1897 article in The Gardeners Chronicle based the Marquis de Saint Simon’s exhaustive Des Jacintes, de leur Anatomie, Reproduction, et Culture of 1768:
        “The first double variety was a seedling which appeared in the gardens of Peter Voorhelm . . . at Haarlem. At that time, the exact date is not certain but it was probably towards the latter part of the seventeenth century, all the bulb growers waged incessant warfare against all hyacinths raised from seeds or offshoots bearing flowers which in any way did not conform to the conventional notions of a perfect flower. The idea of a double variety does not appear to have entered even into the dreams of the Dutch [flower lovers].
        “But (and the story reads almost like a page out of Dumas) Peter Voorhelm was taken ill, and could give no attention to his plants, and was unable to examine them until the hyacinths were beginning to die off. A flower of unusual form arrested his attention, and examination proved it to be a double hyacinth. It was very small, but he cultivated and multiplied it, and was soon able to place it on the market, whilst numerous amateur growers were found willing to pay high prices for the new bulb.
        “The . . . first double hyacinth had a comparatively short life, for it was lost long before 1768. The two double varieties discovered subsequently were named, respectively, ‘Marie’ [not the single ‘Marie’ that we offer now] and the ‘Roi de la Grande Bretagne’. . . . The latter was raised about 1698, and was infinitely the finest of the first three varieties and over a thousand florins was paid for a single bulb.” (Sept. 2010)

Style Alert: Hyacinth Purple is “New Darling of Trend Watchers”

        We’ve been enjoying hyacinths for years, but we didn’t know “hyacinth purple” was a color – let alone stylish – till a spray of hyacinths and paint swatches caught our eye in the April issue of Better Homes and Gardens. It’s a bluish-lavender, we learned, whose “friendly, refreshing tones have always made it a great choice for interiors.” There’s a striking photo of a hyacinth-purple ceiling in a Manhattan dining room by interior designer Sara Story who explains that “purple with a touch of blue can be energizing. . . . It’s a statement of adventure and intrigue.” Though a purple ceiling may be TOO much adventure for most of us, you can sample the stylish new color in your garden (along with hyacinth pink, rose, apricot, yellow, white, pale blue, indigo, and almost-black) by ordering hyacinths now for planting this fall – at last year’s prices! (April 2010)

Site of the Month: For Those Who Love Hyacinth Vases

        Julie Berk has fallen in love with forcing vases, and she’s sharing her enthusiasm in a brand-new website, hyacinthvases.org.uk. There you’ll find colorful photos of all sorts of vases, images from antique books and catalogs (don’t miss the Etruscan Revival vases), reports on her latest bulb-shopping forays, and a “Collectors Community” for email discussions with fellow enthusiasts. Though far from slick, the site is well worth exploring, and Julie has big plans for developing it as an educational resource. Give it a look! (Nov. 2009)

Hyacinth History Now Online

        Once the world’s most popular bulb, hyacinths have been cherished in gardens since the days of Greece and Rome. Very few people know anything of their history, though, so we recently posted a terrific short history of hyacinths at our website. We bet you’ll find it fascinating! (April 2008)

Martha’s All-Hyacinth Bouquet

        The April 2007 issue of Martha Stewart Living features a lovely bouquet of nothing but hyacinths, something we’ve been advocating for years. You’ll see it on pages 188 and 189, a mass of blue-purple and creamy white hyacinths in an antique soup tureen.
        Why not try your own hyacinths-only bouquet this spring and see if you don’t agree with Martha and us that it’s simple, elegant, and a good thing! (April 2007)

RHS Votes to Embrace Hyacinths

        Our friend Alan Shipp of the British National Collection of Hyacinths rang us up with some exciting news the other day.
        The venerable Daffodil and Tulip Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society voted recently to take hyacinths under its wing, “the first change in its remit,” Alan crowed, “since the nineteenth century!” The Committee is making plans to host a full trial of hyacinths at Wisley, with the best being granted the prestigious RHS Award of Garden Merit. The Committee also hopes to include hyacinths in the 2008 London Show competitions, though Alan says “much work will need to be done in preparation as it is many, many years since hyacinth shows took place, and whilst the records of rules and judging criteria exist, the type of hyacinths that they related to do not.”
        These new efforts by the RHS reflect and will further spur the rebounding interest in hyacinths (once Europe and America’s most popular bulb) and they’ve left us wondering – could an American Hyacinth Society be next? (Jan. 2007)

Top Five Perennial Hyacinths – and Deer-Resistant, Too!

        Which hyacinths return and rebloom best? Dr. Bill Miller of Cornell University tested dozens of varieties in zone-5 Ithaca, NY, zone 6-7 Long Island, NY, and zone-7 Clemson, SC. At each test-site, twenty bulbs of each variety were planted in full sun, fertilized, and watered once. After that they received NO supplemental watering (hyacinths like dry summers) and only routine weeding.
        After three years, these were the top-five performers, with their date of introduction and the total number of bloom-stalks followed by sub-totals for Ithaca, Long Island, and Clemson in parentheses.
        1. ‘Atlantic’, 1986 = 90 (35, 30, 25)
        2. ‘Fondant’, 1983 = 83 (28, 36, 19)
        3. ‘City of Haarlem’, 1893 = 72 (32, 19, 21)
        4. ‘Gipsy Queen’, 1927 = 70 (26, 17, 27)
        5. ‘Carnegie’, 1935 = 66 (22, 25, 19)
        Coming in seventh was ‘Lady Derby’ of 1875 with 63 bloom-stalks (the top performer in Clemson), and all the rest of the top ten dated to the 1940s and 50s. Heirlooms rule!
        Hyacinths are also resistant to deer browsing, Dr. Miller adds, “and this is a key benefit that should be recognized.” So now you know! (Aug. 2006)

Extra-Easy Refrigerator Forcing

        Here’s an almost unbelievably easy way to coax fragrant hyacinths into bloom on your winter windowsill. Though books and experts may tell you it’s impossible, our customers showed us that it really works.
        Simply refrigerate your bulbs DRY IN A PAPER BAG for at least ten weeks, then put them on water AT NORMAL ROOM TEMPERATURE to grow roots and leaves and bloom. Easiest of all are ‘Lady Derby’, ‘L’Innocence’, and ‘Blue Giant’ [currently unavailable]; other varieties may need more time in the fridge. We’ll send instructions with every order, or you can read them online right now. (2006-07 catalog)

Antique Hyacinth Vases

        American gardeners of the 1800s loved forcing hyacinths in special vases for winter bloom. The practice dates back to the mid-1700s when Madame Pompadour, influential mistress of Louis XV, had hundreds of hyacinths forced in vases at Versailles. Today, antique hyacinth glasses are collected worldwide. For a glimpse of the immense collection of Dutch enthusiast Wim Granneman, visit kennemerend.nl/bollenglazen. Among other treats, Wim’s homespun site offers a link to Querbeet, a German garden shop offering many forcing vases, including a reproduction from 1888, and the world’s only book about them, Hyazinthen Glaser.
        For our reproduction vases [currently unavailable], click here. (Dec. 2005)

Victorian Advice for Growing Hyacinths

        Garden advice tends to change slowly, but here are some surprising tips from the recently republished Ladies’ Southern Florist of 1860 by Mary Rion of Columbia, SC:
        “Hyacinths. In October prepare the ground by digging two feet deep, thoroughly mixing with the soil, as it is returned, equal parts of earth mould and well rotted manure and clean sand. A small quantity of poudrette [literally: fine powder], put in deep, is beneficial. Pulverize and mix in the earth thoroughly with the manure. Then cover four inches thick with sand, that the manure may not touch the bulbs.
        “[A month later,] plant the bulbs three inches deep in sand. The colors are believed to mix by planting the different colors together; therefore one should sacrifice beauty of display for the permanent beauty of the colors, by planting the different colors in separate groups . . . .
        “After blooming, the foliage dies or turns yellow, when (the spot having been previously marked by sticks with labels) the bulbs should be lifted and separated. The small offsets should be replanted at once, which is better for them than drying. . . .
        “Keep all the colors distinct, and carefully wrap each in a bit of newspaper, and bundle all in paper and mark them. Then put away in a room where a fire is never built. We have pursued the newspaper plan of preserving hyacinths for years, and never lost one.” (Oct. 2005)

‘Vuurbaak’ Hyacinths Wow Them in Fort Worth

        Our good customer Steve Leahy of Fort Worth wrote recently:
        “I just had to tell you that your ‘Vuurbaak’ hyacinths are probably the most beautiful of any hyacinth that I have ever seen. They’re blooming now and couldn’t look better. I still have several other varieties just coming up, so I’m excited and eager to see them as well. Is your limit on the ‘Vuurbaaks’ still 50? Too bad if it is; I want to order at least 100 more of them for next year!” (March 2005)

Pink Roman Hyacinths Smell Like Cinnamon Candy

        Scott has a pot of pink Roman hyacinths blooming on his desk right now. The dainty flowers are graceful and charming, but what’s really fantastic is their fragrance. It started light and springy but then deepened into rich cinnamon or cloves, like the most potent pinks (Dianthus). Wow! (Feb. 2005)

Emily Dickinson’s Hyacinths

        In early 1884, poet and flower lover Emily Dickinson wrote to her sister:
        “I have made a permanent rainbow by filling a window with hyacinths, which Science will be glad to know. . . .” (2003-04 catalog)

Too Dry? Hyacinths Like That!

        If you haven’t seen rain in way too long, one bit of good news is that bulbs are built for drought, and most of yours should be fine. Some, like tulips and hyacinths, may even perform better than ever next spring, since they prefer dry summers – as in their ancestral homelands.
        Even tulips and hyacinths, though, need good moisture while in growth – from fall till six weeks after bloom – so be sure they get that or their performance will suffer. Newly-planted bulbs are especially vulnerable. (Sept. 2002)

Stop the Flop: 5-Second Staking

        To keep a wayward hyacinth upright, cut a thin bamboo stake 12 inches long and run it along the stem from the top down into the soil a few inches (not so deep that you hit the bulb). The florets will clasp the stake, and you’re done! (2002-03 catalog)

Bone Shavings & Hartshorn: Victorian Tips on Forcing

        In his 1863 Flowers for the Parlor and Garden, popular Victorian garden writer E. S. Rand gave some unusual tips for forcing hyacinths:
       “If small bits of powdered charcoal be mixed with the earth, it imparts great depth and brilliancy of color to the flowers, and a dark, rich green to the foliage. Bone shavings or horn scrapings assist a full development of foliage and flower. If the plants are watered once a fort-night with a very weak solution of glue, or a few drops of hartshorn added to the water, the same effect with be produced.” (1999-2000 catalog)

Re-blooming Hyacinths After Forcing Them

        “Can I plant my hyacinths in my garden after I force them indoors?” That’s a question we’re often asked. Here’s one testimonial from our long-time customer Bonnie Jean Malcolm of Essex, Massachusetts, writing of gardening at her former home in the San Bernardino Mountains of California:
       “I force my hyacinths in hyacinth jars [forcing vases]. After they stop blooming, I take them out of the water and lay them on a paper bag and let them dry. . . . In the fall, I plant them outside with plant food (whatever kind I have). . . . I had read that one should just throw away forced bulbs, as they never did well, but I couldn’t bear to throw away such lovely bulbs. . . . Mine settled in and multiplied and I got good blooms.” (1999-2000 catalog)

What Do You Have Against Hyacinths?

        Hyacinths are the most endangered of historic garden bulbs, in part because too many gardeners still stereotype them as “formal” and “stiff.” May I suggest looking at them as “quaint” instead? As John C. Wister, the great Philadelphia plantsman, wrote in his classic Bulbs for Home Gardens of 1930:
        “Few flowers have suffered more unjustly at the hands of the American gardening public – unjustly because they have been banned from countless gardens for no fault of their own, but on account of the revulsion of taste against the circles, half-moons, crescents, stars, and other atrocities that were cut in lawns in bygone days and filled with Hyacinths.
        “Big or little, white, pink, blue, or yellow, the Hyacinth is a lovely flower when used with discretion or restraint. To condemn it for the bad company it kept generations ago is . . . narrow-minded . . . .
        “Don’t be afraid of Hyacinths. Try them and see how many different garden positions suit them. . . . But don’t be without this early and delightfully fragrant flower.” (1995 catalog)

For articles on other topics, see our main Newsletter Archives page.