Outdoor Professsor's Tips

  Hello, I'm the OUTDOOR PROFESSOR from DiscoveringTheOutdoors.com/  Here's your outdoor tip on water hyacinths.  You often see these floating perennial plants in backwater areas or along the edges of rivers or ponds.  They display their light blue to violet flowers on terminal spikes coming out of the plant. The average person often sees these beautiful plants as a pleasant addition to our waterways. Unfortunately, many people find water hyacinths as a destructive invasive species. It is thought that the history of the water hyacinth in the United States dates back to before 1880 in Brazil.  In 1882, the National Cotton Planters Association planned a centennial exposition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the cotton industry.  New Orleans was chosen for the event and the city was decorated as never before with December 16, 1884 being the opening day of the exposition. The Exposition built Horticultural Hall, the largest greenhouse in the world.  It remained in use