Tips for growing care-free hyacinth

Hyacinths are among the most early-flowering bulbs, with a sweet perfume that is the essence of spring. Add this beautiful flower to your garden with these smart tips.

• Their 15 to 20 centimetre (six to eight inch) flower spikes are crowded with bell-shaped blossoms that have jaunty, curled-back petals.
• Hyacinths bloom year after year, but the spikes often become slightly longer and less densely packed with blossoms after their debut. This change softens their appearance, making them less soldierly, but the fragrance remains as strong as ever.
• Hyacinths are available with flowers in a wide range of soft colours, from whites to yellows and pinks, plus many shades of blue, from light lavender to deep purple.
• Use hyacinths in a formal flower border, as edging for foundation shrubs or even as container plants.
• Combined with pansies and primroses, hyacinths become a feast for the eyes. If you follow the show with marigolds and zinnias, the 15-centimetre-tall (six-inch-tall) browning leaves will be well-camouflaged into summer.
• Outdoor performance is not your only option with hyacinths. Potted up in the fall and kept in a place that's cool but remains above freezing, or in a refrigerator, for 12 to 14 weeks, hyacinths will eagerly bloom indoors while winter still holds sway in the garden.

With an ever-increasing colour range, hyacinths are available in numerous cultivars.

• Some favourites include apricot-salmon 'Gypsy Queen', maroon 'Distinction', purple 'Bismarck', blue-lilac 'Delft Blue', pink 'Anne Marie' and gleaming white 'Carnegie'. Varieties treasured since Victorian times include primrose yellow 'City of Haarlem', purple 'General Kohler', pink 'Chestnut Flower' and ivory 'L'Innocence'.

• Buy and plant bulbs in the fall, choosing plump, firm specimens. The bigger the bulb, the larger the flower spike will be.
• Plant bulbs with the pointed ends up, 20 centimetres (eight inches) deep and eight to ten centimetres (three to four inches) apart in groupings of five or more.
• Your chosen site should be in sun to partial shade with rich, loose soil and good drainage.
• Water after planting and then apply a five-centimetre-thick (two-inch-thick) layer of loose mulch, such as shredded bark, especially in colder zones.
• In spring, the flowers begin as clusters of light green buds and then shoot out into flowers in a matter of days.
• After blooms fade, cut off the flower stem and allow the leaves to turn yellow before removing them.
• Take precautions when handling hyacinth bulbs, because they can irritate your skin or eyes if you touch your hands to your eyes.
• As a precaution, wear gloves when planting the bulbs and keep the bulbs out of the hands of children.
• Hyacinths bloom so early in spring that there are rarely any insects or diseases present to cause problems.

Blessed with an easy-to-please personality, hyacinths are gratifying bulbs for any gardener. Keep these tips in mind and plant hyacinths to add some colour to your outdoor space!