It's Spring . . . Indoors!

I have a large collection of Victorian Forcing Vases

Different colors

The first three (new ones) bought at a favorite store - Veranda in Paola years ago!

Forcing hyacinths to bloom in water was a Victorian passion.

Like paperwhites, hyacinth bulbs are easy to grow and will bloom

with very little encouragement

A way to provide a bit of spring to an often snowy January and February.

The difference between paperwhites and hyacinths are the fact that hyacinths have to be pre-chilled.

You can do it yourself . . . or you can buy pre-chilled bulbs

(I always go the pre-chilled route)

Some years I get a mix and other years I select just one color.

Hyacinth bulbs in tight bud just waiting to burst into bloom!

They're as easy to grow as paperwhites

Just fill the vases with water and plop in the bulb.

It takes about six weeks to get them to bloom

(They're a bit slower than the paperwhites)

When foliage develops, move the vases to a sunny spot

( do my forcing in the breakfast room)

And you should (although I don't always)

turn them daily to prevent leaning.

Check the water levels -- it should remain in the bottom part of the forcing vase.

The flowers last a week or so.

But as with all forced bulbs, don't plan on planting outside

The bulbs are spent and have used up every bit of their energy

Throw them away!

The bulbs in the breakfast room

The sunlight filters through the forcing vases

for a bit of color in the breakfast room.

Between the paperwhites in January and the hyacinths in February

(and the bouquet of tulips from the grocery store)

Most of winter is a bloom!