Flowers

Susan Harrison Wolffis: Making your own sunshine

24.01.10

Spring is in the air at our house.

Paper whites — or Narcissus papyraceus, for those who prefer the proper Latin, the smallest daffodils there are — are starting to sprout on the kitchen counter. They came under the Christmas tree, a gift from my sister-in-law, Kerri, who knew spring needed an extra nudge around these parts.

Forcing paper whites is a simple enough procedure: three fat bulbs, jammed together in a vase, anchored by marbles, nourished only by a little sunshine and water. If everything works the way it’s supposed to, they’ll bloom in another two weeks, filling the air with their sweet scent and unspoken promise of the spring to come.

I need that right about now.

These are bleak times, even for those of us who live here because we want to experience all four seasons, even though we accept the grit that can go along with it: dreary weather, rain when the calendar naturally calls for snow, the sight of detritus deposited

Source: MLive.com