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Article: Double the hyacinth pleasure and beauty.(Gardening)
- Article from:
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Article date:
- October 24, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 The Christian Science Publishing Society. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Elisabeth Ginsburg Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
Where have all the hyacinths gone?
In the 18th century, there were thousands under cultivation in the Netherlands, including hundreds of opulent double-flowered varieties, with two or even three rows of petals within each plump floret.
The doubles remained popular into the early 19th century, and the catalogs of the time were full of evocative names like Bouquet D'Orange and Pink Royal.
These days, the average bulb catalog contains scores of daffodil and tulip varieties, but only a handful of hyacinths, none of which are doubles.
Did they perish because ...