common ground : paperwhites

Showing posts with label paperwhites. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Planting Paperwhites

One of my late Fall traditions of the last few years has been planting Paperwhites for the upcoming Holidays. Each year I look forward to their wonderful pristine white blooms filling the darkening days of Fall and Winter. I've collected quite a few vintage "containers" in the last few years, so part of the fun of planting the bulbs is digging out my stash and deciding which ones to use.

I unbagged my bulbs and have them in an old strawberry flat with boxes that I've whitewashed. I just enjoy looking at them, while they wait their turn to be planted.

I'm going for a Nature themed Christmas this year,

so these will be just the first of that inspiration coming up.

As you can see, my helper is here.

Now if I can just keep her away from them.

I don't want chewed shoots...

A McCoy matte vase, an old chipped sugar bowl, and a new find, which is a French measuring pitcher, are readied for my first planting.

I use pea gravel as a base, then just a little potting mix. Just enough to cover the bottom 1/3 of the bulb. Too much water or soil will cause them to rot. In a day or two I'll sprinkle moss on top, which helps hold in the moisture.

They'll be here on the baker's rack for a while,

so they can have some good light to get started.

If you haven't planted them before I'll encourage you to try it,

the kiddos love them too.

You can hardly mess them up,

and I love to see them grow each day!

Hope you'll run by and check out my

Paperwhite Pinterest Board too.

And if you haven't stopped by

The Marketplace

then just scroll down to the next post.

More of my Paperwhite Posts Here and Here

Joining in for these parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Blissful Whites at Timewashed

All Star Block Party at Red Hen Home

Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

House Party at No Minimalist Here

From My Front Porch to Yours

French Country Cottage

xoxo,

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Milk Carrier Paperwhites

Happy Sunday, Everyone!

A little more with Paperwhites...

For me, Paperwhites are just the embodiment of a natural theme for Christmas. I usually buy about 75 to 100 each year of the Ziva variety and have them planted in containers between Thanksgiving and Easter. This year I was behind schedule in getting them ordered, so they didn't arrive until the week after Thanksgiving.

I love using vintage containers for them, from soup tureens to just stacking the bulbs in peat pots. However you do it, there's an instant feeling of Christmas.

I love candles, and have one burning almost every day, but the thrifty part of me hates throwing away a perfectly wonderful glass jar. I saved them for awhile, not knowing for sure what I wanted to do with them, but after a "clean out" of my stash this summer, I just had 3 from this season to use.

I like using pea gravel and a little potting mix with my bulbs. I just like the way it looks rather than seeing the roots...just me. Then I cover them with some moss to hold in the moisture. I Didn't get that far with these.

The main thing is just to cover the bottom third, otherwise the bulb will rot. So into the candle jars with a little burlap ribbon on the outside, and then into the milk carrier.

Keep in a bright window. In order to keep the stems from getting too long and falling over, you can water with a mix of rubbing alcohol and water in a 10/ 1 mixture. Not too much alcohol, just enough to stunt it's growth. (so many jokes for this...but I'll refrain)

I wish I'd been saving my candle jars earlier, in order to make a full carrier of them. A lttlle faux greenery will have to do for this round. I imagine I'll do another set in January. (I'm saving my candle jars now!)

Here they are this morning, after my camera made it back.

here's a link to using an alcohol solution to keep them manageable.

A super easy little project, you can use any jar, or jars and put them in a grouping, no carrier needed, just have fun with them. I buy mine from Blooming Bulb, but you have to order early. They also have a huge variety of Fall Bulbs and lot's of gorgeous "green" Christmas ideas.

I'll be linking up with:

Between Naps on the Porch

www.betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com

xoxo,

Friday, December 16, 2011

Vintage Inspiration Friday # 68 Inspired by Paperwhites

I discovered Paperwhites about 8 years ago and I've been smitten since. My Christmas decor leans to the "natural" most of the time, and nothing says "Christmas" to me like paperwhites. Some people find they are heavenly scented, others just the opposite. But however you feel about their scent, I think we all agree they are beautiful...and super easy to create a big impact wherever they might be.

They are at home in an elegant setting.

You can dress them up or down,

depending on the container and the surroundings.

and equally gorgeous in an old crate or bucket

En masse they are amazing...

So many different containers can be used, vintage or new

Mantles or centerpieces

A beautiful addition to your Holiday decor.

Check out this article in the current Southern Living Magazine

for some how-to tips.

(All photos above on my Paperwhite Board at Pintererst)

A few years ago I found this wonderful large blue transfer soup tureen,

and as it had no lid, I bought it on the cheap.

I don't guess I have another photo of this container in full bloom,

not sure why, but it was wonderful!

Here's one of this years containers.

This photo was taken about a week and a half ago,

and today

I had forgotten about the matching green transfer platter,

so it's now holding the paperwhites in the soup tureen.

Monday, January 24, 2011

pretty...

These days in January can get sort of dreary.

Like when the sky and the ground are the same gray color.

Peaceful, but a little lifeless.

So today I just wanted a little "pretty".

This Johnson Bros. pink floral vegetable bowl

full of paperwhites is almost past it's prime,

and I noticed a few kitty teeth have been nibbling.

Then, on seeing this little lantern,

the glass needs a little shine...

But if you look past the flaws

well...

it's just pretty.

I found this old white wicker tray when Rebecca was here.

I knew it would be a sweet landing place for some little January treasures.

Sure enough,

one of my little lambs has found a cozy spot.

It's days like this that remind me why I redid the Dining Room.

I like to use dried hydrangeas all throughout the year. This stem happens to be faux, but I've been mixing them with real dried and they disguise pretty well. These are just cream colored ones I bought in the Spring, but tinted the edges with "Distress Ink" when I couldn't find them in the floral stores. Just thought I'd share a little floral secret.

I'm joining Marty for Table Top Tuesday