Up your gardening game this Christmas and grow paperwhites like the pros at the garden centers.
How can I think about Christmas when the marigold and burnt rust leaves still cling to our sycamore tree? Clusters of scarlet Aronia berries weigh heavily on the branches, patiently awaiting their harvest for jams and juice. Early autumn mornings here in the Mid-Atlantic, the transient Canada geese fly in their formation over newly harvested crops. I watch them from my kitchen window as they land for a dawn respite in the pond adjacent to our wheat field.
Some mornings I sip my coffee on my back porch and watch with intrigue as the squirrels feverishly gather acorns, which reminds me to do my own seasonal planning. Even though it will be bleak outside soon, you can bring color and fragrance indoors by forcing winter blooms.
Fresh and Festive
A container of forced paperwhites exudes elegance. A bouquet of these delicate, white blossoms serves as a frugal and green centerpiece on a dining room table or side buffet. You can then dust off your vintage crockery or unveil your favorite flea-market find and showcase them with paperwhites.
This year, my containers of choice are a saffron family heirloom bowl for the farm table in our kitchen. In our dining room, paperwhite will adorn the scarlet rimmed enamelware basin my great-grandmother used for washing her dishes back in the day when a hand pump served as the kitchen plumbing.
My living room decor always follows an English garden theme, probably because I am an unabashed Anglophile. I plan to drape a red and white gingham holiday bunting across the length of the mantel and grace the fireplace mantel shelf with a weathered galvanized container full of paperwhites mixed with stems of winterberry.
Paperwhites, the perfect gift
White Flower Farm expresses the beauty of paperwhites, “Nothing matches the crisp, fragrant blossoms of Paperwhite Narcissus for their ability to banish the winter doldrums.”
The gift of a cluster of sweet aromatic flowers with a hint of spicy offers a seasonal reprieve as the late afternoons wither, and the dark pierces the days.
To assemble the paperwhite gift includes the following:
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- select a container (terra cotta, galvanized, vintage, flea-market, etc.)
- 100 Pcs 6×9 Clear Resealable Cello / Cellophane 6 x 9 Bags Good for Bakery Candle Soap Cookie by UNIQUEPACKING
- 10 ‘Ziva’ Paperwhites Flower Bulbs 14/15cm Bulbs
depending upon the size of your container. It is always nice to provide extra bulbs
- a small bag of potting soil
- small ball of twine, 18″ Green-Wood Plant Stake, Floral Picks, Wooden Sign Posting Garden Sticks (25 Pcs)
- one pack of Super Moss 21512 Preserved Sheet Moss, Fresh Green, 8oz (200 cubic inches)
- festive ribbon to embellish the gift
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depending upon the size of your container. It is always nice to provide extra bulbs
Print your gift tag with planting instructions. Use it to embellish a gift bag for a special friend.
Growing Your Paperwhites
Instructions:
- Place soil just to the rim of your container.
- Place bulbs in the soil, roots down. Space your bulbs closely together. Add enough mix to cover the necks of the bulbs but leave the tips exposed.
- Water the soil thoroughly, but don’t overwater.
- Place your container in a cool place (50° to 60°).
- Check your bulbs daily, water when the soil is dry (soggy soil will cause the bulbs to rot).
- (Optional) when bulbs gain a little height, spread the sheet moss on top of the soil.
- When flowers begin to topple, stake them upright with twine.
- After the bulbs finish blooming, then compost them or toss them in a field.
Scents and Sensibility
For Christmas, assemble this DIY paperwhites gift and bolster a loved one’s winter sanity. Studies claim over and over how plants help reduce stress and improve mood. Forcing Paperwhites does not require a green thumb, just a little TLC, so that anyone can give this project a try.
Reclaim the art of gift-giving by crafting a sustainably-minded, frugal present like a potful of paperwhites. You can personalize the gift with a hand-painted pot or bowl.
What are other ways you can showcase paperwhites this Christmas? Drop your thoughts in the comment section below!
(Psst, this post contains affiliate links, which means that I make a morsel, and I mean a morsel from the products that I link. You are NOT charged additional fees when you purchase products from this site. In reality, you help me fund this site when you buy products from links that I post. I humbly and sincerely thank you if you click and make a purchase.)
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