Paperwhites

The inevitable finally happened...my paperwhites fell over.  A couple weeks ago my neighbors gave me some paperwhite bulbs  (thank you Pat & Terri!).  I dutifully put them in a low, wide vase with some rocks so their base would touch the water.  And sure enough, the next day they had sprouted some serious roots.  And about three days later the green shoots were already about 6 inches long with buds!  If you think about it, it really is quite magical.  And after about 6 or 7 days we had full-on blooms!

But as is always the case with paperwhites the beautiful green shoots outweigh the strength of their impressive root system and they eventually fall over.  I came downstairs and George had take them to the kitchen where they lay on their sides.  I propped them up against the kitchen wall, tied a string around them, and made sure their roots could reach the water.  All day I kept walking by them knowing if I didn't photograph them that day I might as well let go of that idea.

Finally around 3:30 I decided it was now or never.  I brought up my light from the basement and brought the flowers over to the wood bench.  As you can see below I had lots of help from a boy or two.  They LOVE to help me when I have a project like this.  Lots of licking of plants and general getting in the way.

But we had lots of fun playing around with angles and lighting.  And check out these roots!  I think I liked them even more than the flowers!

Today, the flowers are still slumped against the wall in the kitchen looking a little worse for wear after their photo shoot (and cat licking).  But they have given me so much pleasure and reminded me how important it is to take a break from the computer and play for a while.  Thanks again Pat and Terri for such a lovely gift.