Need an idea for what to do today? Make your garden bloom indoors. It livens up your home, gives it a lovely scent and no lie, will automatically make you smile :)
This article I borrowed from Woman's Day Magazine, Issue April 17, 2010.
Make You Garden Bloom Indoors
Sonia Day's 5 Easy Steps to Forcing Branches
1. Cut-Look for branches in your yard that have fat flower buds. Use sharp pruning shears to make a cut flush with an adjacent branch.
2. Smash-Once indoors, make a 1"-2" slit in each stem bottom with a sharp knife, then smash the slits with a hammer. This prevents resin from sealing the cut end, and lets water penetrate each branch.
3. Dunk-Remove any lower buds and set the branches in a deep tub of lukewarm water (keeping any remaining buds above the water line) for several hours. This will wash off any extra bits of bark and allow the branches to acclimate to warm, dry indoor air. Transfer them into a vase with at least 6" of lukewarm water.
4. Store-Keep your branches in a cool room (around 60F) and away from bright light so they don't wither. Change the water daily until the buds begin to show color.
5. Enjoy-Bring them out into brighter light, but not direct sun, with fresh water in the vase (change the water every other day). Some branches, like pussy willow, will open up in a few days. Others, like forsythia, witch hazel, lilacs, plums, Siberian dogwood, chokecherries, honeysuckle, flowering almond, apples or crab apples, could take a couple of weeks. The blooms will last about 2 weeks-the cooler the room, the longer they'll keep.
Sonia Day's new book, Incredible Edibles: 43 Fun Things to Grow in the City (Firefly Books, $14.95) is out now.
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