Time Often Changes Things

  It is nigh on springtime (or so we hope) and the Hyacinths are starting to bud.  My Hyacinths were a gift from my sweet daughter-in-law, Joanna.  These flowers have been through a tough time in recent years what with voles chewing the bulbs and grasshoppers munching on the the tops.  Still each year, they shoot forth green leaves and then stems filled with buds.  With spring, the blooms open into the lovely lavender flowers that herald the season.  

  Years ago, Hyacinth became quite popular as a name for baby girls. There was a time when it was high fashion to name little girls after flowers.  Violet, Pansy, Rose, Hyacinth, Althea rose to the top of the list. This seems rather ironic when referring to the name Hyacinth.  By all rights, the name should be attached to a little boy.  According to Greek Mythology, Hyacinth was a lad loved by both the god, Apollo, and by the West Wind, Zephyr.  One day, Apollo and Hyacinth were throwing the discus in a friendly competition.  After one throw by Apollo, Hyacinth ran after the discus and was struck down and died. It seems that through a fit of jealousy, the discus had been blown astray by a stiff wind from Zephyr.  Determined not to let Hyacinth be lost forever, Apollo caused a flower to bloom from the spilled blood of the young lad.  So, thinking about it, the flower was named after a young man. Hyacinth should be a guy's name but, for the life of me, I never recall one male ever being named thus.  Every Hyacinth, real or fictitious, (with the exception of the original) has been female!  Strange!  So over the years, the name has changed from male to female.  
   
   The fact that time changes a lot of things including names, it has never changed the fact that the flowers are some of my favorites.