A Bouquet of Hyacinths

One of my favorite bouquets to give to my Mom each year. She remembered the story of " the little purple flowers"  today.  

She had fallen asleep at the dining table when Dad and I walked in this afternoon.  Tom was sitting with her.  Tom said, "Mom look who is here!" with a big smile on his face.  I tapped her on the arm and held the small bouquet out in front of her.  She opened her eyes and those flowers were the first thing she saw.  She smiled and smiled. (We love good surprises in this family.) "Ohhhh, the Hyacinths are blooming!" she said.  She remembered their story and told me about it. "These were your favorites as a little girl....."  She knew they had come from my yard, but immediately knew they had come from another special place before that and were her flowers. 

I must have started picking them from our yard when I was about four, because Mom made me a dress that matched their color for Easter that year.  I loved that dress and purple was my favorite color.

She still remembered right where they were planted and the day she and I dug many of the bulbs up before they moved from their house of 42 years in 1999.  She wanted me to have as many as I wanted for my yard.  She was so very thoughtful.  We were on our hands and knees in the dirt by the deck and Dad's shop, under those Dogwood trees one day.

 I could see these flowers across the deck from my bedroom window growing up.  Today I see them out my front windows under our River Birch by the street.   

It's not even March yet and they are blooming.  We're having an early spring!  I was so afraid the frost would get them when the temperatures dropped below freezing last week.  They survived!  Thank you Lord.  You know how much I enjoy these Old Fashioned Blue Roman Hyacinths.  They are only here for a short time.  

Did you know that these species of flower actually originated in France?  Not the Hyacinths that come in big clumps on a stem, but these free flowing ones with only a few blossoms on a stem, that are more like a Wild Hyacinth.  

 Hmmm..... I wonder if subconsciously that is why I'm so fond of them? Ha! Ha!   You don't see these kind very often at all, though they do exist in white and pink varieties. 

What is it about these Hyacinths? They are just these little things, not big at all.  Not showy or grandiose.  They are simple.  I guess it is so many things for me.  It's their color, their aroma, their simplicity, the fact that they were small and could fit in my hand as a child so they were "my size" and easy to pick.  I see pictures of myself when I was small and I always had a flower in my hand!   It could be a clover flower, a dandelion, a sweet pea, just about anything I could find I think I would pick.

 Special memories of these flowers will always be associated with my mother.  After she moved and no longer had a yard with flowers, I've been picking them and making bouquets for her. They are the first bouquets she gets from me in March.  The bouquet came early this year!   Here we are mid- February and I don't think winter is over yet, but it's still nice to think about spring! 

Whenever I have bouquets of them in my hand, even though they are always small,  they are noticed.  As I was walking down the hallway to Mom's room today.  I saw Mary, her roommate.  She said, "Oh Hyacinths!  I just love Hyacinths!"  Mary is 95 and she knew what they were right away.  I'm so glad she is going to be able to enjoy the little purple flowers too.  I put the bouquet on Mom's dresser.  Their aroma will fill the entire room.