Hot Hyacinths

I was walking around the other day when I saw hyacinths like I've never seen before. I extol the virtues of edible plants more than just about anybody, but these flowers expanded my horizons. Maybe part of it is that I measure the value of plants as a ratio of necessary effort to reward, and I find edible plants more tangibly rewarding than ornamentals. However, since hyacinths are bulbs, they require very little work. I could certainly deal with a few of these, I'm sure...

I apologize for the subpar quality of these photos. I had my camera with me when I passed this display, but I guess I forgot that, so I took these with my phone. At any rate, I loved the combination of violet and white here. It just looks classy. And I had never seen hyacinths this bluish before, so the school is opening my eyes to new experiences.

Hyacinths, or Hyacinthus orientalis, are apparently very easy to grow since they need cold temperatures to bloom in the spring. This means the bulbs can be planted in fall and basically left alone. Here are some that are still working on putting out blooms.

Hyacinth blooms can get fuller than the ones shown here, and low-nitrogen fertilizers will help encourage this. I still appreciate this bunch. They're just plain cute. Like this! (Ignore the cigarette butt.)

Doesn't the feast of flora that comes with spring bring you joy? It sure does for me. The world is coming alive again.

Next post: free food.