It all started with an intention, a desire to have hyacinths blooming in my garden this Spring. I had a desire, even though I had my doubts.
You see, I have tried in the past and it has been unsuccessful...for various reasons.
Sometimes I would forget where I planted the bulbs and they'd get damaged as I dug around to plant something different in the same place.
I suspect that sometimes squirrels were to blame - or at least, I chose to blame them, even though I never actually SAW a squirrel digging up a hyacinth bulb.
And then there is the fact that hyacinths are delicate.
They are easily pushed over by the wind, especially early in the process when they only have their single stalk as support.
I realized going into this that I could be disappointed.
I also realized I had a lot of experience of what NOT to do that I could build on. This is the process of growth, learning and change.
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And so, with all of this whirling around in me last fall, I took the first easiest step toward enjoying the blossoms of this hyacinth: I bought the bulbs…with awareness.
Consciously I chose high quality bulbs, rather than impulsively picking some up at the market.
I then considered - for many weeks, as the weather got cooler and the time for planting loomed: where would I plant these bulbs and how could I do it so that I might have more success this time?
I thought about where I could plant them that would protect them from the wind, the squirrels and, most of all, my own forgetfulness!
I thought about how I'd never invested in bulb food in the past...and then made the investment to do so this time. What could it hurt? It might even help! That’s its purpose, right?
I found a protected spot right outside my front door where my future hyacinths would be sheltered from the wind.
I hoped that the proximity to my house would not only discourage the squirrels but would also encourage me, as I passed the spot each day, going in and out of my house, to remember my hibernating desires deep under the soil.
And after all that consideration, I planted the bulbs…
hoping
and yet not knowing whether this year would be any different.
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The photo above shows what a difference two weeks makes in the springtime life of a hyacinth
Two weeks from bud to bloom but, in truth, the whole process took months...and in fact, took years, from the very first time I ever desired to grow a hyacinth sometime in the early 90’s to having a successful and gorgeous bloom in Spring 2021.
This is a story about the process of change.
Sometimes it seems like it happens overnight
or in two weeks
but the truth is, it has been happening all along.
Intention. Attention. Failures. Learning. Intention. Attention. Practice.
I hope you enjoy the sharing of my blossoming desires! Wonder I will learn this time around?