We used to have a lot of grape hyacinth blooming

13 years ago

until thr cat decided hat they were great grazing material. She will start on a section and eat as many as 10 to 12 blooms. She just stands there happily eating grape hyacinth blooms. Must not be toxic or she would be long gone by now. This isn't the first year she has decided that they are about the most delicious things, she has been doing it for years. One year Leone mixed up some Tobasco sauce and water and tried that poured on the as a deterrent but it didn't work. Now we just let the idiotic cat graze.

I'm probably crazy but seem to remember earing in some high class Italian restaurant and having pickled grape hyacinth bulbs on the plate. Remember quizzing the waiter about what they were and swear he said grape hyacinth bulbs.

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Comments (9)

pamven
13 years ago
Well George,this is a first for me. Ive heard of cats eating many strange things but never flowers. She is a stinker!!!!
anneliese_32
13 years ago
I had once a cat who loved pickles and canned pears, but grape hyacinth blooms? What can I say, it's a cat and who can figure out cats! Now I have to find out about the bulbs.
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User
13 years ago
Interesting, watch the animals to find out what is good to eat.

Here is a link that might be useful: Muscari comosum
lilod
13 years ago
I have a lot of them. so far I haven't seen any cat eating them, didn't know the bulbs could be pickled and eaten, learn something new all the time.
My muscari were planted along the south-end of the house and have shown up last year on the northeast end of my area, spreading rapidly. How they got there, heaven only knows.
Real wanderers.
anneliese_32
13 years ago
Thanks Don. I have eaten cipollini but did not know that they were the bulbs of grape hyacinths. Next time I buy some I have to figure out if they are cheaper made by myself or to plant them, LOL.
gandle
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks Don, guess I remembered correctly. Don't remember much about the bulb pickles except they were crunchy and well, pickley. Think I'll cut off a bloom and try it. If I don't post anymore it was toxic to people
sylviatexas1
13 years ago
Cayenne pepper tea will discourage any animal from eating anything.

(Keep the extra tea in the fridge to keep it from spoiling.)
tibs
13 years ago
"Think I'll cut off a bloom and try it. If I don't post anymore it was toxic to people" Snort.
meldy_nva
13 years ago
Well, I learned something new! I had always thought of cipollini as being made with onions, so I looked up recipes. Sure enough, lots of recipes for cipollini made with a type of wild onion (or tame for those who don't demand authenticity). So I tried searching for muscari cipollini, and there they were... sweet-sour pickles made from the bulb of "tufted muscari", and including directions for harvesting (when 3 leaves show and before any blooms). Tufted muscari is somewhat different from the common grape hyacinth (which is also considered non-poisonous, but no specific recipes noted) but one should be careful because some wild hyacinths are also called "grape hyacinths" but are actually in the lilium family and *are* poisonous.