These bulbs were placed in hyacinth vases at different times, which theoretically means the blooms would be staggered.I have no clue where I first heard that anticipation of taking a trip is more fun than actually taking the trip. How much this is true doesn’t really matter. Planning a trip is fun and taking a trip is fun.
Not having enough money to take a trip is just a bummer. Hearing about other people’s plans to take a trip when you can’t take a trip does not bring happiness.
Not even knowing what it might be like to take a trip is just plain sad.
This week I decided to check up on this trip happiness factoid. Is planning a trip really more fun than actually taking a trip?
I must say, I was rather shocked to find a New York Times blog (http://tinyurl.com/zoqkgtg) about a study on the quantification of happiness, trip-planning and travel.
The article goes into some depth about the overall happiness of these nearly 2,500 people in Holland who were or were not taking a trip.
There was even a research survey conducted. You can read all the details here:http://tinyurl.com/hy45mhj.
Obviously, some graduate student in the Netherlands gained happiness by finding a topic for her master’s thesis.
So here’s what I’m thinking … this happiness and anticipation isn’t isolated to trip-taking.
I’ve made a habit of finding anticipatory happiness from my plants.
This week I am quite content watching my hyacinth bulbs bloom indoors. You can also believe me when I say the entire process has been joy-filled.
One of the easiest bulbs to force this time of year is the hyacinth. I bought a jumbo bag at a big box store in August and gave half the contents to my mom.
If you can’t find any hyacinth vases at local thrift stores, you need to move more quickly next year. My mother and I spent the good part of a Sunday buying all that we could find.
A hyacinth vase is formed so that the bulb sits about a third of the way down the vase (see photo). Next, you carefully fill the vase until the water just barely touches the bottom of the bulb.
You might add half a teaspoon of water to the vase once a week.
The vase is clear, so you get the excitement of watching as the roots emerge from the bulb.
As of this week, three of the four hyacinth bulbs on my kitchen table are blooming.
They smell amazing.
No doubt, watching these bulbs over the past several weeks has brought me great joy. Was the joy of emergence more or less than the joy of actually being able to smell the flowers?
Yes. If I go back to school for my master’s degree, I’ll conduct a research project on the joy of watching plants grow.
As plants grow there is always something to anticipate. If love to garden, you probably agree that this brings joy.
LOTS TO DO DURING DRY SPELL
My buddy Dan Reidel recently wrote about El Niño, and how we should expect a break of about 10 days before the return of the rain. Read the details here,http://tinyurl.com/jqhw7vh
This is excellent news for almond farmers, who may have great weather during bloom.
For the home gardeners, its a great time to get some things done in the yard.
I’m hoping the Handsome Woodsman breaks out the weedwhacker this weekend, to beat back the grass that remains in that area we once called a lawn.
If you have some garden raised beds, this is a good time to work the soil, add compost, etc.
If you grew tomatoes last year, borrow a rototiller. Tomato hornworm pupa spends the winter in the soil. By finding and mashing those leather-looking pupae, you can cut back on summer tomato damage considerably.
You can also plant cool-weather leafy vegetables by seed, including lettuce and chard. If you work the soil really well, now is the time to plant carrots by seed.
Contact reporter Heather Hacking at 896-7758.
