Forcing flower bulbs is a fantastic way to bring fresh flowers and beautiful scents to the home. Especially over the winter period, when there is little in way of blooms in the garden, forcing bulbs indoors can provide a welcome and stunning sight. And whilst you may be waiting for your spring bulbs to emerge from the ground outside, you can ensure that you already are enjoying fragrant flowers inside.
Forcing flower bulbs such as hyacinths, tulips, or daffodils is very easy. It is also cheap to do, with the main expense being the bulbs themselves. When looking for bulbs to buy be sure that you purchase ones which have been pre-chilled so that you can start the growing process as quickly as possible. For bulbs such as crocuses and tulips, you need to ensure that you buy them between three and four months before you want to start growing them as they will first need to be placed in a bag and stored in the fridge to simulate a winter season.
Once you have your bulbs ready to grow, find some gravel and a growing pot. Aquarium gravel is ideal for this process, coming in a range of colors so that you can make your decoration as unique as possible. Alternately, pea shingle, small glass pebbles, or even marbles can make a fantastic growing medium. For your container you can use anything from a standard garden pot, to a glass vase or vintage tea cup. Depending on the style you are trying to achieve you can mix and match your various components. For example, a chic modern look can be achieved by using a vase and glass pebbles, while a more rustic offering could represent a natural stone pebbles in a terracotta planter.
Fill half to two thirds of the vessel you are using with pebbles, before placing the bulbs carefully on the surface. Make sure that they are packed in close together, but that their sides are not touching each other. Continue to fill the pot with gravel, marbles, or whatever you are using until just the tips of each bulb shows above the surface. Try and ensure that this is at the top of the pot so that the growing shots will be able to get as much light as possible, repositioning if necessary.
Before standing the planter on a sunny windowsill and waiting for the bulbs to spring into life, provide some life force by pouring on water so that it levels off just benefit where the bulbs lie. This will encourage root growth and get the flowers off to a good start. By keeping moist your bulbs will quickly start to send up vibrant shoots, before budding and bringing a multitude of fresh flowers to your home.