Pretty and fragrant apricot pink hyacinths
Photo: Chronica Domus
It has been a little over a month since I posted on my white hyacinth arrangement, here. At the time of writing that particular post, I had one remaining bag of bulbs to be forced in water. Most years, if the stars align and I plan accordingly, I can stagger my forcings so that I am able to enjoy fresh blooms for at least the first few months of the year. I am pleased as punch to report that all of my calculations have paid off.
Here we are in early March and my final hyacinths are ready to burst and saturate the air with their delicious scent. Don't you think they look heavenly?
Hyacinth arrangement photographed on our American Federal work table
Photo: Chronica Domus
I was thrilled at how pretty the apricot pink shades of the flowers looked against the vibrant spring green shades of the foliage. Ahem, but please excuse my carelessness. I cannot tell you which particular hyacinth bulbs these are. When I purchased them last year, I had scribbled a note to myself on the brown paper bag containing the bulbs, noting their name and color. It appears that I tossed the note along with the bag when I used the bulbs. Oh well, I hope you agree they do look lovely, no matter what their name is.
A treasured 19th century English black basalt slop bowl housed my arrangement. I made sure to line the interior of the bowl's surface with plastic wrap in hopes of preventing any scratches from the pebbles and water that provided an anchor for the bulbs. As I did not want the pebbles visible, I covered them in moss. I adore the way it all turned out and I'm quite captivated with the outdoor woodsy effect the moss provides. It is all very reminiscent, albeit on a miniature scale, of the woodland I played in as a child living in Kent. The bulbs that grew rampantly on that woodland floor were bluebells, Hyacinthoides non-scripta. There were absolutely masses of them. And, what a vision they offered! If you can imagine a blue woodland carpet for as far as the eye can see, then you will understand why I shall never forget such a pretty sight. My sisters and I used to fill every vase in our home with our pickings for weeks on end each spring.
Pretty flowering quince blossoms
Photo: Chronica Domus
In addition to my rather naturalistic hyacinth arrangement, now sitting in our dining room, I added some flowering quince branches, enhancing the spring-like woodsy mood of the room. The delicate blush color of the blossoms complemented those of the hyacinths and looked quite marvelous against the deep color of our walls.
Flowering quince branches in a 19th century English apothecary jar
Photo: Chronica Domus
The room is now dressed in its spring finery and ready to receive our guests for a leisurely Sunday lunch.
Do tell me, what is blooming in your area of the world that can be brought inside to brighten the last days of winter?
Love your grey walls, they are gorgeous. I have hyacinth bulbs that flowered before Christmas but now remain maddeningly all-stalk-no-bloom. I am not gifted with green fingers. Perhaps that was their brief show?
ReplyDeleteHello ELS, thank you for your comment (I'm really enjoying your blog and wonderful writing style).
DeleteOne does not need a particularly green thumb when forcing hyacinth bulbs, but good quality bulbs help (plump and firm). Try to buy them from garden centers and not at other stores that offer them at discount prices in those little netting bags. I fear your bulbs may not bloom at this point, particularly if they've had their foliage and stalks for so long. Keep them watered for now and see what happens (you've nothing to lose).
I encourage you to try again in the autumn when fresh bulbs are in stock. Let me know how you get on.
Hello:
ReplyDeleteYour arrangement of hyacinths is divine. Simply lovely and we can so easily imagine the scent which must, even now, be drifting through your dining room, the walls of which, like Elizabeth [above] we adore.
How well we too remember carpets of bluebells in the woods of our childhood and the disappointment that those picked lasted for such a brief period in water.
Hello Jane and Lance, I'm happy to read that you too have memories of bluebell carpets. It truly is one of those childhood memories that I'll never forget. Unfortunately, the woodland we used to play in and harvest our bluebells was battered by the Great Storm of 1987. It was sad to see the pitiful devastation on the ancient oak trees, but those bluebells kept coming year after year.
DeleteHow on earth do you get yours to stand upright like that? Mine has a bad case of brewer's droop.
ReplyDeleteHello Tabitha, thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.
DeleteHmmmm.... I've never experienced the droopy syndrome your bulbs are afflicted with but perhaps you can try to heap on more stones to anchor them better. Or, is it that they don't have sufficiently long roots as they were not able to drink up their water? One more theory, has the water "gone off" (a little pongy)? If so, rinse your stones/anchor medium and add fresh water. That may do the trick.
All I can say is try, try again and don't give up! The rewards are too lovely.
Thank you for this lovely posting.
ReplyDeleteAnsel Adams used gray walls in his home studio to display his black and white photographs. Your walls are lovely, as are your flowers and their arrangement.
At this time the outdoors is fragrant with blooming citrus.
Hello JW, and welcome back!
DeleteAnsel Adams is one of my husband's favorite photographers. I did not know he too used gray on his wall to highlight his collection.
How wonderful that you are enjoying the heady fragrance of citrus blossoms. I have a lemon tree that seems to be in bloom and fruiting all year it seems. I've tried to grow oranges without success.
What type of citrus do you have?
Valencia and navel oranges, two variety of lemon, kumquats, oro blanco grapefruit. Alas, no limes.
DeleteIf memory serves, Mr. Adams used a darker gray. He and Mrs. Adams had a collection of Native American pottery and rugs that also looked stunning with the gray.
Oh, how fortunate you are to have a veritable orchard of citrus to choose from. I love oro blanco grapefruits - deelish!
DeleteI love any flower in a salmony pink shade. Your hyacinths are gorgeous (and so perfectly set off by your basalt bowl) as are your quince. We used to have an ancient quince bush at Darlington, long since gone, and I have many happy memories of cutting armloads of it for forcing. I also love branches of dogwood and pussy willows in our Chinese urns. Heaven!
ReplyDeleteOh, what a sad day it must have been to bid farewell to your ancient quince bush. I can only imagine how beautiful it must have looked upon blooming. Dogwood and pussy willow branches - what a good idea, and what a vision!
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