Hyacinth

lat. Hyacinthus orientalis

Group: Flowers

A clear spring morning sky,
And here and there, far overhead,
Singing the wild geese fly.
Ryoto

Hyacinth is a genus of bulbous flowering plants in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Scilloideae. This plant is native to eastern Mediterranean, northeast Iran, and Turkmenistan, but it is commonly used as an ornamental plant in almost all parts of the world. Netherlands is the chief commercial producer of this lovely plant embellished with dense flowers in deep shades of blue, violet, red, white, orange, pink or yellow.

An old Dutch legend tells a tale about children playing by the water when they noticed a pretty but unusual flower with tulip-like leaves and gorgeous red blossoms. The children wondered where did this strange plant come from, and they asked the locals if they may have any idea at all. The villagers soon remembered that about a month ago they have seen a ship from Genoa, carrying flower bulbs, and decided to make Holland the second homeland for the hyacinth. The locals fell in love with the flower and decided to grow it in their gardens, making their country the world’s largest producer of the lovely plant. But it was not only Duch people who were fascinated by the beauty of hyacinth. Charles Darwin, a renowned English naturalist wrote: “Hyacinth is so wonderful! You can get flowers with bright blue, pink and yellow flowers! It’s almost impossible to find a flower species having these three simple colours together.”

The Death of Hyacinth, 1801, Jean Broc

The name of the hyacinth is derived from Greek language where it means “flower of rain”. It is also mentioned as the “sorrow flower” and “In memory of Hyacinthus” (who is a divine hero from Greek mythology), symbolizing dying and the resurrecting beauty of Nature.

What is fascinating about the hyacinth is that each of the many colors in which it appears in nature has its own fragrance. When hyacinth just starts blooming, it produces a light floral aroma, but when the flower stem opens up the scent becomes very strong and powerful!

The scent of hyacinth goes very well with the scent of jasmine, neroli, ilang-ilang, violet, tuberose, lily of the valley and narcissus.

ardley London has designed the fragrance Hyacinth to reflect the charm and style of the brand with a new, modern twist. The Heritage collection was designed to highlight modern notes of fragrances inspired by English flowers.

Antica Farmacista combines tuberose flower with the subtle aroma of the hyacinth and lily of the valley in Tuberose, Hyacinth & Lily of the Valley.
If you are a hyacinth-lover you will admire these perfumes. Welcome, Spring!

More fragrances based on wonderful hyacinth:

Jacinthe et Rose by Coudray—a noble and romantic union of hyacinth and rose
E by HRH Princes Elizabeth— hyacinth, as the main note, surrounded by white flowers
Blanch Jacinthe by Il Profumo—another bouquet of hyacinth and white floral notes
Room Spray and Candle Hyacinth & Bluebell by Floris

Image of multicolored hyacinth by jeffk