Out of the Darkness

The longer nights are so dreary, but Winter Solstice has arrived and now the daylight hours will slowly increase.  It is a time to be joyful.  Spring is just 87 days away, when the night and day will be equal.  The  forced bulbs are slowly coming out of the darkness.  They will have been in the refrigerator for 14 weeks, then I will slowly introduce them to the light.  I hope to have more success this year, as I was more patient and gave them the darkness that they require. 

I was fortunate to have a large dorm size refrigerator to devote to just the bulbs.  The roots have started to develop.  I check them once a week, and add water as necessary, making sure the water does not touch the bottom of the bulbs. The temperature remains at just above freezing.  The next stage will be to place them in a spare bedroom.  The windows will be covered and the room kept cool.  This way I can slowly increase the light and temperature. 

I remembered the amaryliss bulbs this year.  First I soaked the roots in warm water and then I planted them.  One is growing now, so perhaps I will have blooms by spring.  Either way it was just a fun experiment and a good reason to play in the dirt.

As the bulbs are coming out of the darkness, I feel that I am also coming out of the darkness.  Winter is a good time for planning and reflection.  A time to count blessings.  I have been doing a lot of reflection lately, as I slowly come out of the darkness. 

A bouquet of paperwhites.  They don’t need the darkness or cold, but perhaps we do in order to grow just as the daffodils and hyacinth need the darkness to grow. 

                                        Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

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