VAL BOURNE praises the adaptable and colourful hyacinth

A couple of weeks ago, I bought one blue hyacinth in a plastic pot for the princely sum of 75p and plonked it on the kitchen windowsill. Now the mid-blue flowers look spring-fresh and they are scenting the entire room.

How I wish I'd bought a dozen and arranged them in a container. But next year I'm going to grow lots and I may even venture away from the traditional blues I'm hooked on. After all, there are pale- primrose yellows, hollyhock purples, bright pinks, pristine whites and even a salmon-pink on offer.

Hyacinths are without doubt the best bulb for the house at this time of year because they tolerate much more warmth than daffodils and tulips. This isn't surprising because in the wild they come from hot spots close to the Mediterranean Sea, especially from Turkey, the home of Hyacinthus orientalis. This species is the ancestor of modern varieties and this provenance indicates their need for well-drained conditions in full sun or partial shade.

Hyacinths are often bedded out in box parterres en masse, usually flowering in April, and they perennialise well. The multiflora varieties, which produce more than one spike, make ideal garden varieties. But all hyacinth flowers diminish over the years and I quite like this emaciated, lesser look of a hyacinth gradually reverting back into a bluebell lookalike.

I have found that the blue varieties endure longest in the garden and they always seem to have a better fragrance too.

Although a hundred varieties have been bred, only about 25 are widely available. The best deep-blue varieties are Blue Jacket' (a dark-blue) and Ostara' (a pansy-violet) and blue hyacinths set against yellow daffodils are dazzling in spring. Good pink varieties include Anna Marie' and Pink Pearl' and these make ideal partners for small blue bulbs like scillas and muscari.

There are also strident varieties like the mauve-violet Splendid Cornelia' and the double-red Hollyhock'. These are capable of lighting up the garden in late March and early April.

There are also much softer colours. Although I have so far failed to place the pale-yellow City of Haarlem' successfully in my own garden, despite trying for several years. But whites are always easy and the best is L'Innocence'.

Children love to grow hyacinths in glass jars and this was highly popular in Edwardian England. The glass needs to be kept topped up to the base of the bulbs, rainwater is best, and putting a small piece of charcoal in the water helps to keep it sweet.

But if you are thinking of filling a large container the best way to do it is to plant your bulbs into individual pots. Specially prepared bulbs can be planted in September for Christmas flowering and then two weeks later for New Year. The cheaper hyacinth bulbs, which have not been given any special treatment, can be planted right through until the end of November. These will carry on producing flowers during February and March.

Plant about 25 of each variety in soil-based compost. Keep an eye on them; when the large buds begin to break you can choose several that are at the same stage and arrange them into your container, perhaps with a covering of moss or bark. Always choose a container with generous drainage holes in the base and add pottery or pebbles to aid drainage even more. Avoid planters without drainage holes.

If a bulb produces two shoots, remove the weaker at the lowest possible point to encourage a bigger bloom to form. You can also prevent a bulb opening its flowers by inverting a flowerpot or cardboard tube over it. It needn't be expensive. Ten untreated bulbs (from Peter Nyssen/tel 0161 747 4000/ www.peternyssen.com) will cost about £4. Ten treated bulbs are roughly £6. Or try the Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Centre - website www.flowerbulbs.co.uk