The Gifted Photographer
Copyright: © 2009 Melissa Goodman. All Rights Reserved.
For centuries, hyacinths have filled the spring air with sweet perfume, inspired poets to songs of praise and gardeners to feats of horticultural elegance.
In the mid-18th century, Madame de Pompadour – mistress of France's King Louis XV – ordered the gardens of Versailles filled with Dutch Hyacinths and had hundreds forced "on glasses" inside the palace in winter. The predominant fashion trendsetter of her age, the royal paramour's passion for these sweetly-scented hyacinth bulbs sparked a national rage among the French elite.
Today, the hyacinth remains a symbol of style and elegance, with the grand tradition of large formal hyacinth beds continues in many of the world's great public and private gardens.
Copyright: © 2009 Melissa Goodman. All Rights Reserved.
For centuries, hyacinths have filled the spring air with sweet perfume, inspired poets to songs of praise and gardeners to feats of horticultural elegance.
In the mid-18th century, Madame de Pompadour – mistress of France's King Louis XV – ordered the gardens of Versailles filled with Dutch Hyacinths and had hundreds forced "on glasses" inside the palace in winter. The predominant fashion trendsetter of her age, the royal paramour's passion for these sweetly-scented hyacinth bulbs sparked a national rage among the French elite.
Today, the hyacinth remains a symbol of style and elegance, with the grand tradition of large formal hyacinth beds continues in many of the world's great public and private gardens.