Forcing Spring....er, Blooms

 

I'm trying to force spring along by forcing some Forsythia blooms in my family room.  And I think it's working!  I cut the blooms last weekend and they started blooming by Thursday.  And on Thursday and Friday we had temps in the 60s and it even reached 70!  It actually felt like summer, so we fired up the grill and made ourselves a steak for dinner last night.  And we planned a summery lunch of bruschetta, prosciutto and mozzerella, tomatoes and basil today for my in-laws, who are visiting for the weekend.  I can't wait to taste it!  The thought of basil is making me itch to go outside and spend time in the garden.  Here I am waiting for spring, but I really think it's summer I'm after.

Forcing spring, I mean, blooms, is easy.  Here's how: 

1. Cut several branches from a forsythia bush in February or March.  Make sure you choose branches with lots of buds on them.  The buds will look really small, but that's okay.  They'll get bigger and bloom once they warm up indoors.
2. Put the branches in a vase of water.  I used an old honey jar.  (Cut flowers are the reason I buy local honey in glass instead of plastic jars.  They're pretty and make a great gift vase for zinnias, my favorite cut flower.)
3. Keep the vase somewhere warm (room temperature).

You'll have blooms in less than a week!

Happy Spring,
Kelly