Good morning, gardeners, and welcome to the Saturday Morning Garden Blog!
Well, now. Are we having fun yet? Is anyone getting any sleep? Nearly two weeks have passed since Hillary Clinton won the popular vote but lost the presidential election. I don't know about you, but i'm still struggling to come to grips with the horrors of our current political landscape. It's difficult to understand how to move forward when we've fallen so far behind. But hey, this here's a garden blog! So for just a moment, let's set aside our fears, find comfort in the voice of Van Morrison, and plant some blooming bulbs ...
Van Morrison, Virgo Clowns (clink this link)
Let us free you from the pain; Let us see you smile again; Let us unlock all the chains; You're broken-hearted
Let us help you to forget; Let us help you unlock it; It's not nearly time to quit; You've only started
Sit down funny face; Oh, let your laughter fill the room; Light up your golden smile; Take away all your misery and gloom; Oh, let your laughter fill the room; let your laughter fill the room
Let us shake you by the hand; Let us help you understand; Take your head out of the sand; And shake it free now
Let us help you to go on; We are here to lean upon; Now you know exactly just who you want to be now
Sit down funny face; Let your laughter fill the room; Light up your golden smile; Take away all your misery and gloom; Oh, let your laughter fill the room; let your laughter fill the room
Let us lift you up on high; See the twinkle in your eye; Raise you up into the sky; And say it's easy
Hey let the trumpets ring it; Oh, let the angels sing it; Let your pretty feet go dancing; Let your worn out mind go prancing
And sit down, oh funny face; Oh, let your laughter fill the room; Light up your golden smile; Take away all your misery and gloom; Oh, let your laughter fill the room, come on; Let your laughter fill the room; Let it fill the room
Shifting gears a bit, i read somewhere that mid-November is the perfect time to force bulbs for indoor blooming if you want them to be on full display for the holidays. There are other Saturday Morning Garden Bloggers (GUG, i'm looking at you) who have perfected this process to the level of fine art. Me? I'm just a beginner. So i've decided to keep it simple.
Without question, daffodils (a.k.a. narcissus) were the star of the springtime garden in our previous home. In the front, they lined the driveway, and out back, they danced on tree roots …
Although there's not a single narcissus planted outside where we live now, i decided it might be a pleasant winter mood-booster if i could force some paperwhite narcissus to bloom inside this year. The first step was to gather the materials; two glass bowls from my local Good Will store, three bags of stones to anchor the bulbs in place, and of course, the bulbs …
First, i added 2 inches of gravel to each bowl and added water until it reached the top of the gravel …
Then, i gently pressed the bulbs into the gravel, flat side down and tip side up, after which i surrounded them with additional stones to keep the bulbs in place …
Ideally, i would have gathered the materials far enough in advance to have gotten other varieties of paperwhites and identical bags of aggregate (the mixed stones look a little like a bean salad in those glass bowls, but i may feel differently once the greenery starts to sprout) …
After a full week, once the roots have started to grow, i'm going to drain all the water and replace it with a mix of one part gin (yes, gin!) to five parts water. Apparently, the alcohol stunts stem growth so the flowers aren't as likely to topple over from being too top heavy. With any luck at all, i'll be able to enjoy two beautiful bowls of narcissus blooms this winter, and next year, i'll stick them in the garden. Who knows? Maybe they'll eventually flower there too. Stranger things have happened.
What's going on in your gardens?
PS: The upcoming Saturday Morning Garden Blog needs 5 more hosts to finish out the year.
November 26th — Skohayes
December 3rd —
December 10th —
December 17th —
December 24th —
December 31st —
As always, if anyone would like to take a weekend, drop a note in the comment section (or send one of us a private message). We need more writers if we want to keep this series going, and new contributors are always welcome.