We are having gorgeous (for January) weather - sunny, 40's (anything above freezing is nice) - for the next few days. Which means that today or tomorrow I should be able to dig up some lily of the valley pips to force indoors. The last time I did this was 4 years ago, and it was fun to do - I think it took about 5 or 6 weeks to produce the blooms.
Here's what they looked like at the beginning, the last time. Telling you about this will help me get myself outside to do some digging.G was in need of some dental repair, and fortunately the dentist was able to see him yesterday. And again, the weather makes a big difference - no attached garage means a slooowww trek across the patio to the waiting car in the driveway, plus the trek into the dentist's office from street parking - so not having ice or snow to make his progress more difficult is wonderful.
Monday I had time to undecorate the tree, and today it will be taken away to become mulch. The rest of the decorations in the house are packed and stored in the basement, with the exception of a few in the kitchen which get stored in the kitchen out of season. Those will be easy to put away when I'm ready to say good bye until next year. Our outside garland, white lights, and wreath are still up and will be for another couple of weeks, as I think of them as winter, rather than Christmas, decorations.
Those are some of my moments of thankfulness this week; for more, hop over to Penny's.
I love lily of the valley and have never managed to get more than one flower a year. Very annoying as I know in other peoples gardens they grow like weeds! Thanks for joining in with the cheerfulness!
ReplyDeletePenny x
I do not think that there is a sweeter scent.
ReplyDeleteJust think about the word..."Lily of the Valley"..and is there not a more beautiful name for a flower?
I do believe it is God's way of blessing us when we so need it.
Scent and beauty, color and strength in such a cold time.
p.s.
ReplyDeletei think present may be the best for me. thank you.
What a wonderful idea with the lily-of-the-valley. We have scads of it growing (well, being dormant) on the north side of the house. Perhaps I should get out and dig while the ground is still thawed...
ReplyDeleteThe weather is strangely warm, isn't it? I'm enjoying it, but it feels very odd. (If it keeps up I'll be able to take a bike ride in January, something I've never done here before.) I'm glad it has eased G's passage to the car.
Our decorations are still up - I tend to leave them up as long as I decently can.
Have a good weekend!
What a nice idea about the Lily of the Valley. May I ask exactly what part you dig up? The little sort of bulb with roots attached? We have forced hyacinths before but never a L.O.T.V. I'm glad your weather made it nice for G to get out. However, I am not sure we are even going to have winter this year. Rather depressing, really. Happy week!
ReplyDeleteMy method for forcing lilies of the valley is to dig up the growing shoot that is above the soil level - this year I had a hard time spotting them until I realized that if I followed some of the brown dried scraps of foliage, I would find the pips to which they were still attached. Then dig those up with some attached roots, and the withered foliage can be cut off later. Also, because not every pip will produce a bloom, I dug up six or so for each pot and then packed them closer together than they were in the garden. So hopefully in each pot at least one or two will bloom. Give them some water and place in a sunny window. Last time I did this it took two weeks just for the pips to show the beginnings of some growth, then maybe three more weeks for the flowers to open. If you do this, be sure to plant the pips at the same level they were in the garden - the first time I tried doing this, I planted them too deep and got only leaves - I think they had to use too much energy just getting out of the soil.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely idea with the lily of the valley. It's brought to mind an oldish song that we used to sing in church so that has left me very cheery indeed.....
ReplyDeleteI do hope your walked routes stay ice fee, I can imagine it must make things very difficult.