The Spilled Blood of Hyacinthus

Spring in NYC means that I get to go to Union Square Market and buy hyacinths.  I love hyacinths - the smell, the colors, the beauty.  I try to have buy them every week that they are in season and it's a very short season.

I love myths and apparently the flower is named after Hyacinthus who is best friends with Apollo.  They compete to see who can throw a discus the farthest. In the competition, Apollo accidentally throws his discus into Hyacinthus, killing him. As Apollo holds the body of his best friend, he wishes that he himself would stop living so that the beautiful, young Hyacinthus could live on. As he speaks those words, the blood spilling from the dying youth turns the grass green, and a beautiful flower grows—the hyacinth.

There is one particular booth that sells hyacinths with gorgeous tulips and lilys.  I wish they weren't all wrapped up in paper but you get the idea.

 

I loved the dark purple tulips that almost looked black.

I bought lavender and mint for my window sill in the kitchen. And it is finally Spring in NYC.