Thursday, November 13, 2008

Forcing Some Paper-Whites Just in Time for Christmas


A great-grand uncle to my Mom (or something like that) stopped by recently with a big bag full of narcissus bulbs. He simply had too many and thought I'd enjoy some. Well, of course! Me and my girlfriends would ALL like some.

So I gathered up all of the big wide mouthed vases that clutter my life and stopped at the Home Depot for a $2.00 fifty pound bag of pea gravel. Some re-purposed wired ribbon from the attic was the final touch.

We had a fantastic day doing makeovers (thanks to Marzipan Mom and her recent Mary Kay connection.) We pulled names for the Secret Santa that we are planning ( I swear, I'm more excited about this $10 maximum-make-it-yourself from stuff you find around the house project than any other Christmas gift I have planned.) And, we all put together a vase of paper-whites.

Things were a little rushed as usual....we decided we need to start writing some of the things we think about down, so that we make plans to DO them!

Here are the directions for forcing some Narcissus bulbs just in time for the Holidays:

1.) Fill a dish or wide vase with a layer of pea gravel.

2.) Cover the rocks with water.

3.) Place the bulbs in the dish, flat side down, nestling the bottoms into the stones.

4.) Place the vase in a well-lighted indoor location. Keep the stones constantly wet.

Paper Whites (Narcissus) will bloom in about 6 weeks!

They are a great fragrant gift and a refreshing bloom to have in your home when the outdoors gets dreary and cold.

2 comments:

Jennifer Juniper said...

I know, the wheels are turning!!!

Roeshel said...

I wish I would have read your tips earlier! This is the first year that I bought some - I love them but I think I messed something up. lol Maybe they'll bloom in time for Valentine's day?!

Thanks so much for adding your tips to the DIY holiday party!

Roeshel