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| Photo Credit: Gerald Klingaman |
| Mix grape hyacinth in with other spring-blooming bulbs for a fantastic show of color! |
In Frances Burnett’s cherished masterpiece, The Secret Garden, the heroine of the tale discovers emerging bulb sprouts pushing up from neglected flower beds in her hideaway. The girl asks the housemaid if the little bulbs will live a long time without special care. The housemaid replies: “They’re things as helps themselves. … If you don’t trouble ’em , most of ’em’ll work away underground for a lifetime an’ spread out an’ have little ’uns.”
Such is the case with grape hyacinth. They’ll have those “little ’uns” in quantity, forming sprawling drifts of green and purple in unexpected places. Large patches are absolutely charming naturalized in woodland gardens or mixed with other spring bloomers. These little bulbs can really pack a surprising punch of color. Because of their small stature and minute sales volume compared with tulips and daffodils, grape hyacinths (Muscari armeniacum) are one of the “minor bulbs” of the trade. These pint-size beauties originated in the Mediterranean and Asia Minor and have been cultivated for a long time. Though scorned by some gardeners for their ability to spread, these little lovelies can turn a ho-hum garden into a real showplace! Muscari grow from thumb-sized, elongated bulbs that produce offsets freely. In fall, fleshy, 10-inch-long, grasslike leaves emerge and splay out across the ground. If winter is hard, the foliage suffers considerably by the time blooms appear in mid-spring. By late spring, the foliage is gone.
While it’s nice to see the bright green foliage come fall, the main attraction of this little plant is the bloom! Grape hyacinths typically have bright cobalt blue flowers clustered about the end of 6-inch-long stems (but white and pale blue cultivars are available). Individual florets are urn-shaped, and the bottommost flowers open first, working their way up to the smaller, less-developed top. The whole cluster is reminiscent of a bunch of grapes, explaining the plant’s common name, and the fragrance is wonderful!
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