A few weeks ago my husband Steven surprised me with over a dozen hyacinth plants. They hadn’t bloomed yet so you could only see the purple crown of the flower poking out from the center of the leaves.
“They’re going to be beautiful!” I said as I looked over at him feeling concerned. “But aren’t you and Alex allergic to them?”
Steven shrugged his shoulders. “I was going to get you daffodils but they didn’t have any and I know how much you like these, too. I figured if we planted them far enough away from the house they would look great and we wouldn’t be able to smell them from the house.”
Steven picked up the box that the plants were in. “Let’s go in the backyard so you can find a spot for them.”
We headed out through the kitchen door. After scanning the yard we decided on a spot where I could still see them from the kitchen window but far enough away that we were pretty sure we wouldn’t be able to smell them.
Steven placed the box down on the ground and went to the garage to get a shovel. While he was gone I grabbed my phone to see what kind of care they would need.
When Steven came back with the shovel and a container of plant food I was still scrolling through my phone. “They don’t like a lot of water.” I looked at Steven and smiled. “That’s good because you know I have weak watering skills.”
Steven laughed as he started to dig a hole. “Yes, you do.”
I was still scrolling while Steven kept digging. “Did you also know hyacinths are deer resistant?”
Steven nodded his head as he dug the shovel into the ground again. “That’s another reason I picked them.”
The deer population in our neighborhood is huge.
Steven finished making the hole and went and got our watering can. Filling it up before adding a few scoops of plant food. He filled the hole with some water before taking the plants out of the containers and placing them in the wet earth. “These are suppose to be planted in the fall.” he said. “So you might not get a bloom this year.”
I knelt down next to him. “But they look like they’re ready to pop any minute!”
“They could.” he was still arranging them in the hole before placing the dirt around them. “That’s why I gave them some plant food to help them out.”
Once he was finished planting them we both stood up to admire our new hyacinth patch.
Weeks later I was looking out my kitchen window when I saw the purple star shaped flowers had bloomed.
“The hyacinths are blooming!” I cried.
Steven and my son Alex came into the kitchen. I was pointing out the kitchen window. “They’re blooming!”
I lead the way out the kitchen door to admire them from the deck. We weren’t out for more than a moment when their heavy fragrance reached us. “Uh, oh!” I looked over at Steven and Alex. “I guess we didn’t plant them far enough.” I slowly inhaled. “They do smell nice though.” I looked over at them. “Don’t they?”
Alex looked over at me, his eyes already looking watery. “They are pretty but they smell like a headache to me.”
“I’m sorry.” I sighed.
“Don’t be. I’m glad you like them.” he began walking towards the kitchen door. “I’ll just be enjoying them from inside the house for the next couple of weeks.”
I watched as Alex disappeared into the house before looking over at Steven. “I really do love them.”
“I’m glad.” He sniffled and leaned over to kiss my forehead. “But I’m with Alex on loving them from inside the house.”
Slice of Life 