My Handsome Woodsman was out in yard this week, bright and early, raking golden maple leaves into soggy piles.
Why was he raking? Certainly not because he was following any sort of chore list.
Nope. The air was crisp. He wanted a little exercise. The cat was inside, bleating for wet food.
Why do people like gardening, raking leaves, mowing lawns, planting seeds?
For a lot of reasons.
If there was a Jung/Briggs Myers personality test for gardening, we could sit and ponder the various personality types.
The yard show-off. The contemplative cultivator. Hungry utilitarian.
Others might be lumped into the category of “watchers.”
We all love the really big shows — Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, the walkways of Disneyland , the George Peterson rose garden at Chico State.
However, I’m just as thrilled by the single bud that changes every time I take a new look.
For the past month we’ve had containers of paperwhites on the kitchen table.
These started out as big, fat bulbs – Narcissus ziva. For several days we watched as the bulbs sent out long tentacles that soon hid under the pebbles at the bottom of the containers. Next, green sprouts emerged from the bulbs.
The green grew and grew.
At one point I started marking the height on a piece of paper so I could note the progress the next day. Soon, I was marking the height in the morning and was impressed at the new measurement that night.
Around Thanksgiving, these babies were growing an inch or more each day.
This week the plants are flopped over. The flowers are nice and white, but rather small compared to the length of the greenery. I’m thinking this particular brand of paperwhites is intended for outdoors.
At the very least, I should have moved the plants to a sunnier location.
We tied the leaves together with a holiday ribbon. Yet, they grew more and flopped again.
Someone who liked to solve problems might build an elaborate paperwhite trellis. However, I’ve already moved on to hyacinth bulbs.
If I ever get a chance to teach third grade, I’ll have a bulb growing year-round.
What fun to watch the roots reach further into the water each day.
Later the foliage will emerge, followed by a powerfully fragrant bloom.
You can’t help but wonder how all of that plant infrastructure was crammed into that small bulb.
The Better Homes and Garden website, http://tinyurl.com/zj5gwvc, says to buy pre-chilled hyacinth bulbs, or put the bulbs in the refrigerator for five weeks. Keep bulbs away from fruit.
The bulbs themselves can be irritating to the skin or eyes, the Better Homes gardeners note, so wear gloves while handling
Next, you’ll need a hyacinth vase. This has a bowl at the top, which perfectly fits a hyacinth bulb. The neck of the vase narrows, then gets larger closer to the bottom.
After placing the bulb in the top chamber of the vase, change the water every once in a while and turn the vase so the plant does not lean toward the light.
If you’re a “watcher” you could enjoy the plant until it reaches the bloom stage and gift it to a friend who loves immediate garden gratification.
