Project Created and Written by: Janimarie Lester DeRose
A few years ago I spent two winters in interior Alaska. For several months of deepest winter we had only four hours of a dusky-rose sky, and the rest of our days and nights were spent living by reflected starlight on the snow. I desperately missed growing green life. It was during this time that I developed a tradition of growing Paper Whites or Narcissus, and recording their growth through a watercolor field journal.
This is a perfect antidote to the long colorless scapes that fill our winter months, and a great activity to get your young ones and yourself to really observe the changes in growth carefully. Drawing what you observe, measuring the height with a ruler, and watering the living plant every few days really drives home the amazing metamorphosis taking place!
Narcissus are a common bulb that you can find at most garden stores during the winter months. These flowers amazingly grow in even a small amount of sunlight, as long as you keep them amply supplied with water.
Place the bulbs in a small pot with only rocks and water for the roots to cling to.
The water should be kept at the base of the roots where they emerge from the bulb and no higher. If the water touches the bulb too much it will begin to decompose.
You will need to check the water every few days and more when they start to grow.
Give them a good two weeks in a sunny window (or a bit longer if you live with little light) before you will start seeing growth.
As they grow, measure, and sketch the plant at different stages of their growth and development.
Enjoy the process and have fun adding some life to your winter days!