Martin Fish enjoys the happy scent of hyacinths
Their fantastically fragrant blooms are a joy indoors or outside
The scent of hyacinths is very distinctive and instantly recognisable. They can be enjoyed indoors in pots, grown outside in spring containers or planted directly into the garden. The columns of flowers look delicate, but hyacinths are totally hardy and when planted in borders they’ll naturalise and come back year after year.
In my garden there’s a clump of pale pink hyacinths growing in front of a beech hedge that were there when we moved in nine years ago. Despite the border being revamped and dug over several times, they’ve survived and flower every April!
The use of hyacinths as cut flowers has really increased over recent years. Most are grown on a large scale in Holland, but there are some UK-grown flowers. Hyacinths are very easy to grow at home – the bulbs are simply planted into the ground or several to a large pot in October. If planted in a polytunnel they’ll flower a week or two earlier than outside, meaning you can extend the flowering season. For very early flowers from Christmas onwards, plant specially prepared hyacinths in September and kept cool and dark for the first eight weeks. Hyacinth bulbs and flowers cause irritation to some people, so if in doubt, wear gloves when handling. As a cut flower, they’ll stay fresh for at least a week. Commercially grown hyacinths are grown as annuals and when harvested they’re often cut with part of the bulb to keep them fresh. In my garden I cut only the flower stalks and allow the foliage to carry