17 December 2007

paperwhites

just so you know . . . paperwhites are a kind of bulb. They are a type of narcissus (daffodil). They have small white flowers that look just like the big yellow daffodils in the spring but are only used for forcing (bringing plants inside to trick them into blooming early) during the winter. I think they're very pretty, but they can get smelly if they're in a small room. It's always nice to have flowers before spring.




Other bulbs used for forcing are: amaryllis (red), and tulips (orange/red), and hyacinths (pink/purple).


2 comments:

sara said...

Oh those are just lovely. Thank you for the explanation on forcing too, I'd never heard of that before. Would you believe I've actually never planted bulbs before? Sacrilege, I know.

emily and logan said...

very educational!