13 April 2009

Count The Hyachinths

Count the hyacinths in this photo. I did not purchase this many bulbs. Apparently the 12 originally planted found time to visit a fertility clinic.

In the depth of their second winter, the grape hyacinth (muscari armeniacum) leaves were green and seemed to have grown through the cold season. I wrote about my concern and questioned their fall-winter growth [2.13.2009]. Now, as they are spewing forth flower spikes, I wondered if they were too crowded. One look at a photo of the Keukenhof Gardens in Holland answers that.
    Some info found around the www:
  • They are not actually hyacinths, but members of the lily family
  • They are native to the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor
  • The name 'muscari' comes from the Greek word for musk, relating to the smell of some types
  • The name 'armeniacum' relates to Armenia
  • The bulb is supposedly poisonous (hello, squirrels)
  • Each 'grape' flower in the cluster has six petals
For The Record:
  • Well drained soil
  • Full sun
  • Bone meal fertilizer applied in the fall


Garden Calendar:
  • Daffodils blooming: Lemon chiffon, ice follies, & fifer
  • Tulips blooming: red emperor, generic orange, yellow dover
  • Seeds started: Amaranthus, snapdragons, cleome, lagurus planted 11 April
Seedling Progress Record:
bell pepperred onion

3 comments:

  1. I wonder if you'd be interested in this? There's a Brita gift pack involved. :-D

    I tagged you in an Earth Month meme about improving environmental friendliness.

    http://indoorgarden-er.blogspot.com/2009/04/earth-month.html

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gosh, do I need to improve my environmental friendliness? Just look at those pathetic growing pots in the photo above! Reused and abused clay pots and biodegradable, almost-falling-apart paper cups.

    In my next post.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I bought one package of 12 muscari. They multiply like crazy. I have given them to friends, neighbors, potted and sold at a garage sale and still I have more.

    ReplyDelete