Lovely Muscari In My Garden

In my opinion, springtime just doesn’t last long enough.  I wish we could stretch this season of renewal a few more weeks, at least, so we can further appreciate all the magnificent, fragrant, and colorful blooms that spring has to offer.  In comparison to the splendor of stately tulips and waxy, intoxicating hyacinth blooms, muscari, more commonly known as grape hyacinth, are rather diminutive.  However, their place in the spring garden is quite pronounced.  These lovely gifts of spring are so named because their clusters of tiny flowers resemble little bunches of grapes.  Grape hyacinths are very winter hardy and spread rapidly by division and self-seeding.  They are beautiful in the front of borders, planted in rock gardens, and they even like growing under trees.  Order your bulbs now for planting this autumn.

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Here is a beautiful ‘sea’ of grape hyacinths.  They have such a lovely fragrance.

This is where they are growing so well, under some apple trees.

This variety, known as ‘White Magic’ is planted way back in the woods at a little house that I call the ‘Folly.’  I’ll tell you more about it later on.

Look at this errant purple muscari feeling quite at home in a swath of white.

This is a dark purple variety planted last autumn.  I can’t wait to see how it fills in next year.

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Comments

[ShopLittleGifts]

yes - the first blooms of spring are so exciting. it's a season of possibilities. the grape hyacinths have such an amazing purple blue blend. nature has it's ways to amuse and wow us everyday :)

[Australian Greg]

How beautiful is Sprnig! We are going into Winter here in the Southern Hemisphere and the gardens are dreary! How wonderful that we can see your garden Martha and be green with envy!

Best Always! =))

[liisamarja]

oh my! i've got these in my garden. now i think my tiny patch needs more... these flowers are called pearl hyacinths in finnish.

[Nan Ashby]

I agree. Spring, with it's fragrances and magnificent colorful blooms, is so quickly over. New life is so precious. Love learning about muscan. It's lovely beneath your apple trees. You give me so many new ideas as an apprentice gardener. Nan

[Lisa Ernst]

The grape hyacinths have already bloomed here in Tennessee, but looking at your photos, I can almost smell their wonderful fragrance and enjoy their beauty once again!

[Margie]

Muscari is a real treat. When spring winds blow so strong the tulips are being whipped causing them to lose petals muscari remains. The small plants keep us happy (sane) and make us want to continue gardening.

[JBrennan]

Martha:

Thanks for sharing the beautiful muscari photos. Muscari, like lily of the valley, although diminutive, provide interest and fragrance in the spring garden.

Although I miss seeing the Turkey Hill garden, your Bedford garden is progressing so beautifully that I think, in time, it may just surpass it!

I think that your choice to plant massive beds of particular blooms is working well. When the property is that expansive, it needs large drifts of color to make an impact from a distance.

Your apple trees look quite mature, they must have been part of the landscape prior to your acquiring the property.

Please consider doing a television seqment about the history of the property and its original gardens and how you decided to edit and expand the plantings.

Your are so right, Martha, Spring, the "Season of Renewal" passes much too quickly, so let's enjoy it while it's here!

Have a great day!

Joseph

[Jan Erickson]

Hi Martha, I had no idea that muscari came in so many varieties. The one that I'm familiar with is the grape hyacinths. All of them are beautiful and yours look especially lovely beneath your apple trees. Your wonderful property is turning into a beautiful botanical garden, as well as, an arboretum. Thank so much for sharing. Jan

[Lacy]

So, very Springtime! Lovely photographs.

[Kathy]

Hi, Martha,
Thanks for the glimpse into some of the harbingers of spring in your garden, under your apple trees, and back in your woods. All the varieties, the purples and the white, are so beautiful. I can almost smell them from your photographs!
Kathy

[lisa mertins]

the muscari do well here in hot socal too, a successful bulb along with daffodils so i don't have to suffer too much bulb envy toward those in 4 season climates. i'm disappointed nobody razzed you martha about that errant purple one among the whites ;) what is the poor thing's fate???

[Susan94]

I hear you about spring time not lasting too long. It's my favorite season because I see all the favorite flower and the ones starting to bloom for summer. Here are my favorites in shrubs and flowers. Lily of the Valley, Lilacs, peonies (they are growing tall already and can't wait to see them bloom), tulips, hycinths, daffodils and roses started to get ready too.

[Sues]

The peonies and the grape hyacinths are so beautiful...kudos to your gardeners; they totally know what they're doing. And Sharkey is a cutie!!

Sues

[Swankette]

My husband and I moved into a new (to us) house in October, and now that Spring is here I am starting to get out into the garden and make sense of it all. Once upon a time someone really cared for our garden, but a few years of owners that did nothing but cover up flower beds with weed sheets and bark mulch have taken their toll. The grape hyacinths are abundant, and strong enough to poke through the weed sheets in several spots. Many of them are coming up, because they are impeding on other plants, but they are so beautiful and Springy I'm sure I'll leave a few and perhaps add more later.

[janet]

Dear Martha:

Love your blogs. I just finished work in my herb beds. I found two nice surprises. My dill and borage plants re-seeded themselves again and are coming up! Considering we live in a cold spot in Ohio, it is always a miracle to me when this happens in the spring. Also, I have a pair of wild bluebirds that raise two nests in the boxes we have out for them. They arrive about Valentine's Day to pick which box they will bring up their first family in. Love Springtime!

[Alma]

I start my day checking out your blog. I really enjoy the garden and animal pictures. The best thing is through your pictures and descriptions I also learn something new every day and that "IS" a good thing!

[Sherey]

Martha...once again, thanks for sharing. Your Spring gardens are lovely and how nice that you have the space to grow a variety of trees and whatever else your heart desires. Simply wonderful...how lucky your gardeners are to work on the most amazing property!

[Dianne Barnum]

Hi Martha,
This is my first "blog" to you. I am thrilled that you mentioned and showed the candytuft "snowflake". I have two or three of them, and absolutely love them. Just wish they would bloom all summer.
You are amazing!

[Laurie Craven]

Really enjoyed seeing your new plantings. We have lived in our home for 5 years and never could really enjoy the back yard. About 7 feet outside the back door began a slope upwards and always was in the way. This weekend we decided to dig away some of the "slope" and lay cement blocks and landscape ALOT. You have always been an inspiration to me all these years....actually, I don't do much of anything anymore but when I was young everyone would say to me "ya know you were Martha Stewart before Martha was Martha Stewart" because I did it all just like you. Love your accomplishments. Thank you. Laurie

[joan vogt]

Martha,

Your blog is the highlight of my day! I especially enjoyed seeing your sea of grape hyacinths. I too have them in my garden and there is nothing better than these small hyacinths on early spring days. Keep up the good work teaching us "good things."

[Amy G.]

I love the errant purple muscari in the white bed....what a showoff! What an effective way to use such a diminutive flower in large plantings. I love the intense color.

[azmi]

hi martha, I'm azmi from Malaysia. just to let you know that i'm part big fans of yours. i really like to cook. nice to follow your slot in Malaysia TV and website to go to.

[Edna Bridges]

I am interested in hearing more about Folly, your little house in the woods. I love my *little old house at Plum Thicket* that hubby built me several years ago.

[JulieAnn]

I just wish blogs would include some of the scents! The hyacinths look beautiful, I can't imagine how fabulous they smell!

[mary mckay]

i love seeing all the wonderful plants you have. i have a question for years i have tried to get azelya bushes to grow but they just won,t i followed all instructions and still cannot get them to grow . i've planted them in diffent areas of my yard but the following year nothing comes back up. i live in port monmouth,nj any help would be appreciated. thanks mary

[Poodlepoo]

The wonderful grape hyacinth reminds me of sprays of lavender color under trees at a Castle park in Scotland. The azalea bushes were ablaze with color too! Nature is sooooo beautiful, I hope we all can do more to help keep the earth healthy.
So fun to see the pups enjoying spring!

[Amy]

I love spring flowers!!