Deer-Proof Bulbs Part II
In Part I of Deer-Proof Bulbs I wrote about the mainstay of the deer-proof bulb garden, the daffodil. While planting masses of daffodils will help you create stunning spring flower displays, there are many other spring-flowering bulbs that will also look splendid in your beds because deer will let them bloom. Hyacinths
Hyacinths are one of my favourite flowers because of their shape and delicious scent. I keep the flower bed right next to our door in the front of our house filled with them so in the spring their scent greets us coming and going and wafts into the house.
Historically, these bulbs were once a national rage with the French elite. In the mid-eighteenth century, Madame de Pompadour, mistress of France's King Louis XV, ordered the gardens of Versailles filled with Dutch Hyacinths and had hundreds forced "on glasses" inside the palace in winter. She, of course, was the predominant fashion trend-setter of her age and others quickly imitated her. For more Hyacinth history, go to (http://www.bulb.com/hyacinths/history.ht...
It was the Dutch, though, who created the hyacinth beloved of gardeners today, remaking the tiny Hyacinthus orientalis into the full-flowering, brilliantly coloured jewel of the spring garden.
"Dutch Hyacinths", as we commonly call them, have narrow basal leaves and flowers spaced thickly along a stiff cylindrical raceme. Growing eight inches tall, they bloom in March or April. Flower colors include red, white, pink, orange, salmon, yellow, purple and blue. My favourites include the 'City of Haarlem' (true yellow), 'Delft Blue' (single, light blue), 'Hollyhock' (double, bright crimson-red), and 'Carnegie' (single, pure white). Bulb.com has a list of the 'best' of particular colours at http://www.bulb.com/hyacinths/historic.h... .
Outdoors, Hyacinths need to be planted four inches deep a minimum of 3 inches apart. (Warning: handling hyacinth bulbs barehanded can aggravate skin allergies for some.) If you're in a zone outside of the lower Mainland, plant them deeper, 6 - 8 inches. Any well drained soil in sun or part shade will do. I think hyacinths look best in masses but they can also be used as accents (by a mailbox or doorstep, for instance), or as an underplanting for shrubs.
As Hyacinths naturalize, they'll dwindle, reverting to the puny bloom spike of the original Hyacinthus orientalis. To keep your display 'full-flowered', you'll want to add new bulbs every year or two. After they've bloomed, spent flower stalks should be removed, but leave the leaves to yellow and dry off to keep the bulb healthy.
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