Fill Patio Planters With A Fragrant Spring Bulb That Smells Lovely

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There are few things more relaxing than lounging on our patios in spring. You can dispel winter's chill while enjoying the delightful scent of nearby flowering plants and watching birds flutter about. Gardeners who really want to indulge their sense of smell can use a clever trick to bring aromatic blooms closer than ever to their outdoor living space. Cultivate the heady aromas of a flower-filled garden on your patio, in your small backyard, or on your balcony this spring by planting fragrant hyacinths (Hyacinthus spp.) in containers.

Hyacinths are perennial bulbs with narrow, green leaves, and spikes of funnel- or tube-shaped flowers in shades of white, blue, purple, pink, red, orange, or yellow. Those colorful blooms are so intensely fragrant that some gardeners find them overpowering. Others delight in their scent and can't have enough of them in the garden. These bulbs thrive in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 4 to 8. They need well-draining, loamy, highly fertile soil and a spot in full sun or part shade. If you're sold on these pretty plants for your patio, you need to learn about the mistakes everyone makes when planting hyacinths. There's more to their care than just covering the bulbs with some dirt.

Even though these eye-catching, fragrant flowering plants bloom in spring, you usually need to plant the bulbs in fall. What happens if you plant hyacinth bulbs in the spring? The plants will miss out on the minimum 10 weeks of cold exposure they need to thrive, and they won't produce the stunning blooms you're growing them for in the first place. If you've missed the window for planting hyacinths, it's best to wait a few months and grow the bulbs in patio containers next fall. Pop your clean, dry bulbs in The Little Green Change Small Mesh Bags and store them somewhere cool with low humidity. Wear gardening gloves when handling the bulbs because they can irritate the skin.

Hyacinths number among the low-maintenance flower bulbs that grow well in pots. In fact, the bulbs are considered excellent container plants. They need moist soil after planting in fall right through to when their fragrant blooms fade in late spring — the flowers last about two to three weeks after emerging from the bulb. Expect their scent to grow from lightly floral to intoxicating as the flowers mature. After that, the plant heads into dormancy and needs to stay dry. Choose patio planters that are lightweight and on the smaller side. You need to overwinter hyacinths in an unheated space, such as a garage, to protect them from freezing temperatures, so having planters you can move easily is a boon.