When I started this project I didn't know Mark was going to have fresh flowers delivered monthly. So this has really been a wonderful compliment to the flowers he sends me. When Mark left for Iraq I forced bulbs in my kitchen. I bought a great big box of paper whites at Sam's Club. I thought if I could "force" the bulbs and grow them inside I could have beautiful flowers the whole time Mark is gone. My plan is to plant new bulbs every 3-4 weeks. The first set should have bloomed about the sixth week after Mark left. The 5 planted in the first set didn't grow at all. But I learned a lot! I started the second set of bulbs 3 weeks after the first set. It was awesome. I planted 5 in this really sentimental bowl Mark had given to me, I don't even know if he remembers it or not. Many Easters ago back in Virginia Beach, I think it was Katie's first Easter, Mark got me yellow tulips in this bowl and they were so pretty in our bedroom. I've kept the bowl and used it over and over again to plant flowers for our patio. But this time I used it to plant my paper whites. Of the 5 bulbs I planted in this container, 4 of them have bloomed. Kinda of significant since our family of 5 has one missing. They are gorgeous and smell amazing. At the same time I also planted individual bulbs in two antique desert bowls my mom passed down to me. She thinks she received them as a wedding present in 1963 (that makes them 45 years old). Those bulbs are also blooming. I have all these bowls lining the kitchen windows. They are amazingly beautiful and they smell so sweet. Here is just a sampling of how beautiful they really are. 
