Fragrant Cure for the Midwinter Blues

Each year after Christmas, I look for clearance Narcissus Paperwhite bulbs. They are available in most megastores like Target or Walmart. I buy a couple of boxes, and then dole them out in bunches of three bulbs as needed. Seriously, these bulbs help the winter bleakness blues dissipate!

With the growing time of nearly 4 weeks from bulb to blossom, it helps me to put my focus back on life renewal rather than the deadness outside with bare trees, no green grass and plants, cold weather and all those clothes needed to warm the body inside and outside the home.

The bulb kit comes with a plastic pot, a disc of dirt and four bulbs. I prefer the vase and rock method for growing. It's so simple! Take a tallish vase, put a layer of small rocks on the bottom, place the bulbs on top of the rocks and fill with enough water to cover three quarters of the bulb. Within just a couple of days, you will see whiskery roots growing from the bottom of the bulbs. And a shoot from the bulb top. Keep the water level consistent. Three days later Just a few days after this and the buds for the flowers are visible! The buds are bumpy with underlying flower clusters and the shoots grow very tall. What a lovely surprise it was to find the buds starting to pop out on my birthday morning! Let's talk about the heavenly scent these babies are putting out! Seriously, the whole first floor smells like a tropical paradise. Wish you could get a whiff right now. Three and a half weeks later and they're still going strong! That's a lot of flower power!(With more winter to come, I'll soon be starting round two of the bulbs...with enough to go to round three when hopefully winter will be on its way out.)