I am pretty sure you will have heard of tulip fever – the period in the 17th century when people went completely crazy for tulips, and single bulbs could exchange hands for the price of a house.
There’s a book and a film by that name too by Deborah Moggach. What is less well known is that a century later people went wild for hyacinths in a similar, though less extreme, way. Exotic looking hyacinths, especially double whites with a coloured ‘eye’, were on the shopping list of every anybody who was someone and all wannabees too.
Look closely at this painting by Jean-Etienne Liotard – Portrait of a Woman with Hyacinth, 1750-59. Notice she has grown the bulb in water in a special hyacinth jar. You may well have done the same yourself as a child. In fact, everybody has been doing it since the Georgians, with little ups and downs in popularity. The Victorians loved it and, apparently, we are getting wise to the pleasures of forcing indoor bulbs today. Collecting these special vases has also caught on and there are some determined people out there after anything rare, special or quirky. Just take a look at these:
cobalt blue ones were popular with Victorians;
here’s a rare Georgian one in a lovely green shade;
I like these squat little pair in cranberry;
and this one in amethyst.
It is a surprise to see just how many variations on a theme have appeared over the years.
I think I may have caught the bug. There are some nice examples on ebay right now for as little as £10. And for those who like to read up on a subject – there’s even a book devoted to bulb growing vases of all types:
Let me know if you come across one in a junk shop!
