Excitement in the indoor garden

Normally, at this time of year, I would be posting about houseplants and tazettas, and I am. But rarely would I expect to have hyacinths starting to bloom indoors. Yet, that is exactly what’s happening.


These (top and above, left) are the Prince of Love hyacinths from Brent & Becky’s. (I always include vendors because different vendors often have different names for the various cultivars.) I have never had hyacinths blooming before February before, but these are producing big pale pink buds and the stalks are coming from everywhere on the bulbs (which are huge), including the bottom. I noticed how unusual these bulbs were when I received them and was concerned to see all the bottom sprouting, but as long as they bloom elsewhere, it’s fine with me.

Avalanche
Just as all tazettas are not created equal (people just think paperwhites, but there are so many types, including double, orange, and yellow), hyacinths have a lot of variety. Some bloom earlier than others, some have shorter stems, some are doubles, some have loose, single flowers. And that is what makes them fun, and why I always prefer named cultivars over a generic bag of whatever.

Golden Rain
The tazettas I have in bloom now are Erlicheer, Avalanche, and Golden Rain. Erlicheer is a gorgeous white double, Golden Rain is a yellow double, and Avalanche is a really strong-blooming single. None of them have the strong fragrance associated with paperwhites; Erlicheer and Avalanche smell more like traditional daffodils.
Erlicheer


Elsewhere, the zygocactus are over for the season, but I have lots of action coming from my cyclamen and African violets. I am also hoping for some blooms from the dendrobium orchids in February. I have a feeling that a lot of the flowers will be indoors on this GBBD; winter did not spare our friends in the south, and I’ll be interested to read about how their gardens are looking.