bulbs are magical

Bulbs are magical - rebirth from the warming earth in the spring after being frozen all winter.  Nothing is more indicative of the spring than bulbs coming to life. One of the earliest bulbs are crocus: their spikes telling us spring is most definitely on the way; then bright yellow narcissus: nothing is more cheerful; then hyacinths with their full fat heads of flowers and intoxicating smell. When I open my back door the smell of the hyacinths wafts up to me. When the sun comes up and warms and brightens the morning the tulips open up. The bright green of the foliage and the purple of the packed flowers of the muscari are a brilliant fresh combination of colours.

Imagine these beautiful magical bulbs bringing forth their blooms indoors in the middle of winter. That’s what you can have forcing bulbs indoors. You can use pots but I love using antique glass hyacinth vases. Anything that holds the bulb above water and has room for the bulbs roots can be used. When bulb forcing in water became popular in the late 18^th century special bulb vases were produced in hand-blown glass. The Victorians loved them and throughout the 19^th century vases were made, initially the tall churn or urn shape and later the squat bulbous shapes in different jewel-like colours (see images bulbs5 and bulbs6). They have been produced ever since in many many variations. So many were produced in the 19^th century that luckily many have survived today and can be bought reasonably priced on ebay and at antique markets but some of the more special examples being very expensive.

If you start prepared bulbs in September, keeping them in the dark for 12 weeks and taking them out by December 1^st, you can have flowers in bloom for Christmas. Hyacinths are the easiest and most reliable bulbs to force in water but crocus and tulips also work. They just require a bit more care. Amaryllis are also very easy to force in water and don’t require any time in the dark. Other bulbs can be forced, such as lily of the valley, muscari and iris. After the bulbs bloom indoors they can be planted outside to bloom as outdoor spring bulbs the next year (see image bulbs4). Bulb vases come in different sizes to accommodate different sized bulbs (see image bulbs7). See www.hyacinthvases.org.uk for more images and information about antique hyacinth vases.