Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Forcing PaperWhites

A few weeks ago I attended a Christmas brunch with my sister in the home of one of her coworkers. She gave each guest a gift of paperwhites, so that they could be forced indoors during the winter months. I think that giving your guests a small gift is such a thoughtful and wonderful idea, it helps them to remember your special occasion. Recognize the gift tag? :)
I have had my eye on some pale blue and stone pottery pieces at Michaels for the past couple of months. When we moved into our current house, we debated on whether we should paint the living room blue or yellow. In my absence, Max went with yellow, and we have many times since then wished we had gone with the blue. Due to the height of the room, it's open to both floors, we're not repainting it anytime soon...though I would love to! We've desperately been in need of an area rug to cover the wood floors in that room but Max and I never agree on rug types. He likes shag...I like anything but shag! So in the days before Christmas, I found a rug that I liked which would work well with the existing colors yet pull in some of the blues we were longing for. Thank you Santa (Max's dad) for standing in my corner of the boxing ring to be sure that this rug made its way into our house! With my 50% coupon in hand, I knew I had to run back and see if any of the pale blue pottery was left because it would be perfect for my new paperwhites. They had a piece that would work perfectly so I also snagged some smooth river rocks, in two different tones, that would help to pull the look together.


I mixed the rocks then filled the container about 2/3 of the way full. Next, I added enough water so that it would barely reach the top of the rocks. If the bulbs sit in too much water, they'll rot. The paperwhites were then nestled in the rocks, roots down, so that they would grow upright. That's it! I placed the planter atop an old chest I bought for Max for our very first Christmas. Knowing what to get a guy I had only dated for a few months was difficult but I somehow knew this would be the perfect thing. We've both loved it ever since and it has served several purposes in all three houses that we've been in. I cant wait until they bloom! The flowers will be a cheery reminder that spring always follows the cold wintery months.

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