Today's Guardian on the creation
of the world's first black hyacinth:
The new plant, christened Midnight Mystique, marks the finding of one
of horticulture's remaining holy grails, out-romanced in most grower's minds
only by the elusive blue rose. The secret breeding programme, in a world where
rival plant laboratories compete for lucrative sales in garden centres and
through seed and bulb salesmen, involved thousands of cross-breeding trials,
with the "final" phase taking 16 years.
I may be an old fashioned type, but
I am quite satisfied with the lovely blue hyacinths currently brightening up my
garden. And the name Midnight Mystique? Well that's just tacky.
But I am rather partial to this.
(If you do fancy the idea of a black hyacinth, Thompson & Morgan is selling them to UK buyers only).
My black mondo grass hasn't grown one smidge since I planted it three or four years ago. I'm rather depressed about that :)
Posted by: Gabrielle Adams | March 23, 2005 at 03:44 AM