This weekend I got round to planting my indoor bulbs – Hyacinths, Muscari and Crocus. I had picked up a couple of bargains over Christmas during the sales and was gifted with a small jug of indoor crocuses on Christmas day so I had a variety of plants to sort. Truth be told, I kept putting it off but now I’m hoping the delay will not hamper the chances of them flowering and prove costly in the end.
Thankfully the pots came with dried out compost that just needed rehydrating. So I didn’t need to go hunting for my multipurpose compost soil from last summer in the garage or in locations unknown. With the rather damp and cold weather, I didn’t fancy carrying out this task outside so I had to settle for the utility room otherwise known as the ‘anything goes’ room by me. You probably have a room like this or know someone who does.
It can be a messy business planting especially without the right tools, and I had to resort to doing the potting up gloveless due to a mishap with my gloves , which are now sadly located in my bin never to see the light of day again. Nevertheless, there is something incredibly satisfying with having soil run through your fingers. I did have to do a lot of cleaning afterwards to ensure I cleaned out any trace of soil on the work top.
Interestingly though, all the plant instructions (yes store bought house bulbs come with instruction) suggest you need to keep them in a dark cold location for up to 10 weeks before bringing out to warmth and light. My previous experience of potted bulbs are mainly amaryllis which don’t require keeping in a dark area for weeks. I now have to remember to set a reminder on my phone for then or else all the effort would be for nought.
I find it fascinating though that contrary to what one might suppose such as plants needing light to grow, the early stages of growth and development are quite the opposite, taking place in darkness, away from the limelight. Not dissimilar to how babies grow and develop in the womb. But then the next crucial stage needs light or air in the case of babies.
I guess there are a lot of parallels one can draw from this example and apply to life. Winners, Champions and Excellent people are not made overnight, they work hard, train hard and graft behind the scenes, away from the spotlight. Those periods of darkness and obscurity are vital to build character so that when the time comes for them to be in the light they can truly shine or in my bulbs case flower. Here’s hoping that indeed happens 10 weeks or so from now.
gardenraf 