Hyacinths are bulbous flowering plants which are are native to the eastern Mediterranean region east to Iran and Turkmenistan. The Dutch, or Common Hyacinth (H. orientalis) was so popular in the 18th century that over 2,000 cultivars were cultivated in the Netherlands, its chief commercial producer. This hyacinth has a single dense spike of fragrant flowers in shades of red, blue, white, orange, pink, violet, or yellow.