Gardening is nothing if not a learning experience, and my hyacinth forcing experiment has been just that. Here is what I have gleaned: 'Woodstock' hyacinths have a rich dark purple color, beautiful scent and they bloom early. After only 10 weeks in the cool, dark garage, they burst quickly into blossoms. This was great a few weeks ago when I was aching for color in the doldrums of January, but I also learned that they flare out quickly—like a pretty firecracker. At first I was disappointed that the 'Woodstock' and 'Blue Jacket' hyacinths wouldn't bloom together to create a purple-and-blue color scheme. But on the bright side, the 'Blue Jackets' are flowering as the 'Woodstock' bulbs have faded, and thus I have accidentally extended the bloom period of this hyacinth project.

The down side to this serendipity is that 'Blue Jacket' bulbs seem to require a longer cold period than 'Woodstock'. The blue flowers are lovely and smell delicious, but one is listing sadly to the side, presumably the result of an insufficient dormant period. So while it's nice to have that extended bloom period, it came at a cost. But in the end what really matters is that I've enjoyed weeks of hyacinth flowers and their intoxicating perfume in the midst of a long winter. This is the lesson I’ll carry into next fall,with the other bumps along the way duly noted. —Rose Rankin