My Green Ambitions

I am so very susceptible to the power of suggestion.

Recently, I noticed a friend of mine had a lovely vintage handkerchief in her bag. She used it to dab some drool off her baby's chin, and so we (there was another friend there at the same time - I'm not using the royal "we") asked her where she got it and if she routinely used handkerchiefs. She said that she has several, and uses them all the time. And then this past weekend, when we were together to see a church broadcast from Utah, I noticed again that she had a pretty handkerchief that she used to hide her face when she got a case of inappropriate giggles during a very serious spiritual discussion.

Anyway, it made me think about how when I was a little girl, I remember my mom had a collection of hankies that she kept in the top drawer of her dresser. Some were floral, some were embroidered, some had scalloped edges. I thought they were neat. And I still think handkerchiefs are cool. They've got such a wonderful old time charm. And, from a green perspective, they're kinder to the earth than using Kleenex, right? Though obviously a handkerchief would be more for dabbing the occasional tear or sniffle and not for any major nose-blowing action. I'm all for saving the earth but I don't need cute little embroidered bundles of snot in my purse.

So, I've been scouting out vintage hankie auctions on eBay because now I have it in my head that I MUST own some handkerchiefs of my own. There are some really lovely little collections out there. And I'm shocked with how popular they are. I think that people cut them up and use them to make quilts and whatnot. I'm also hoping I can convince my mom to give me one of her hankies. She has this purple one with Can-Can girls on it. It must be mine.

I've been receiving emails from various seed companies, telling me that now is the time to start thinking about planting bulbs for the Spring. For some reason, a lot of them are pushing tulips in particular. Now, don't get me wrong - I love tulips. And I'm considering getting this mix of bulbs, which has a fair number of tulips in it, for my side yard:Isn't it so happy and pretty looking? I love all the purples and blues. Anyway, I've always loved spring flowering bulbs. There's something kind of magical about seeing them bloom. It's quite literally watching nature wake up after a long winter's nap. I love it. So, now that I have a yard of my own and some decent time to plan and plant, I definitely want to put some bulbs in the ground. Specifically: I want to plant hundreds of daffodils.And, fortunately for me, you can get whole bushels of daffodil bulbs. Delightful!

I think my love of daffodils in part comes from loving the poem by Wordsworth. In the literary community, I've noticed, not everyone is crazy about Wordsworth. They say he's too verbose, too flowery, too cheesy. Whatever, haters. I LOVE WORDSWORTH AND I AM NOT ASHAMED.

Daffodils
By William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
and twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
in such a jocund company:
I gazed - and gazed - but little thought
what wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Daffodils are the embodiment of springtime joy. I love them. I love seeing them springing up in gardens. I love seeing them in flower arrangements. I just love daffodils! I'm a little nervous, though, that they won't be very happy in our warm San Diego weather. Daffodils like to freeze. And while I know it works, I don't particularly like storing bulbs in my refrigerator to "force" them. It just feels like cheating.