simple gifts #2

This is the second in my series of Simple Gifts for the holidays. It's a quickie but goody! Paper whites are a beautiful flower bulb that you can force to bloom for the holidays. Force sounds so harsh... it just means that you give them a gentle nudge to open early... by giving them the light of a window sill and the warmth of inside. You can do this in any climate, but it's particularly nice where the winters are frosty and you're aching for fresh flowers. I always start mine the week of Thanksgiving. They take 4-6 weeks to bloom. I give them as gifts around the holidays, and by that time they are either just blossoming or about to. Find all of the supplies at your local garden store. Each gift will cost about a $ 1, but be worth so much more!


Supplies:
stones or soil
paper white bulb
tin can or glass jar from your recycling bin
rectangle of fabric the same size as your container
jute twine or ribbon
gift tag

Plant and Make:
1. Fill your can half way with gravel or soil.
2. Nestle a bulb in the center, being sure to keep a bit exposed. Green tips to the sky, roots to the bottom.



3. Give it enough water to cover the roots.
4. Make a cozy out of a fabric scrap by measuring around your container and adding 1/2 an inch. The height is up to you... let the can peek out or hide it. Stitch the wrong sides together and turn. Fray the top or use pinking shears. I have so many burlap scraps that it seemed an obvious choice. There is no bottom, so just slip it over the can. Voila!


5. Tie a ribbon or twine around the center and attach a gift tag (I snipped mine out of a paper bag) with instructions for care on the back. Adorn with a sprig of evergreen or winter berries.

Care: Check here for tips.

We'll have our windowsills filled with growing paperwhites. My children love watering them and charting their growth. We keep a clipboard and ruler close by. They often grow over night at an amazing rate, so it's very exciting.

The gift in the first photo will be going to my Thanksgiving host... I think she's expecting it, so I won't be ruining the surprise by posting it early.

Here's what the paperwhites will look like next month!

photo by Christine Hamilton