I knew I had quiet a few volunteer grape hyacinths in the rocks next to our house. I thought I'd dug up all of them last fall while working on my backyard landscaping project. I dug some more during the good weather days of winter. As the weather begins to warm, I'm finding I still didn't get them all!
Our house is built on clay. I wish the soil had been amended prior to development, but it wasn't. So I get the joy of scrapping clay mud off my shoes almost every single time I go into the backyard. I'm also trying to fix some drainage issues that are causing basement flooding. I'm trying to divert as much rainwater and snowmelt away from the house as possible. In raising the ground level closest to the house to force the water to drain away from the house, I'm coming upon all these patches of grape hyacinths. I'm sure not going to bury them as if they never existed!!!
I have dug up literally hundreds of these babies. I replant them in areas where I encourage growth. They seem to do better where they aren't supposed to thrive. But I'm still trying to keep the grape hyacinth forest healthy.
The deer have nibbled the greenery away from some of my transplants. Grape hyacinths are supposed to be rabbit- and deer-resistant. When the critters are hungry, they aren't quite as picky. And the squirrels... those little devils pluck my bulbs right out of the ground and scatter them. I re-plant them, and a few days later, the game begins all over again.
I've given away quite a few bulbs, too. I hope the ones I've gifted have done better than the ones I've transplanted. I realize they may not bloom this year because they've been disturbed. I've told recipients to be patient; the flowers may explode with gorgeous blue color next year!
I also filled quite a few terracotta pots with bulbs, hoping I'd have an indoor garden of blue. I think seven flowers have emerged since January. Yet green stalks are still standing. So I keep telling myself to be patient. Might take until next year, but those bulbs are going to survive and thrive!
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