My spring-flowering bulbs were all in the ground, but the buy-one-get-one-free display of individual bulbs at the garden center pulled me in with its siren song. I practiced restraint, however, and only bought a few hyacinth bulbs for a first-time attempt at forcing.

The notion of "forcing" a plant to bloom has always seemed a little disquieting to me, but I adore the scent of hyacinths (Hyacinthus orientalis), and I would love to have flowers in late winter when the charm of the holidays is long gone but it's still too early to start seeds. So I potted the 'Woodstock' and 'Blue Jacket' bulbs in regular potting soil, watered them well, and left them in the cool, dark garage where they will hopefully root and prepare to sprout. The only hyacinths I have in the ground this year are the yellow 'City of Haarlem', so this is a pleasant way to indulge in some other colors I wanted but held back on. Now I wish I'd potted them a little earlier because I have to wait 3 months, until mid-February, to move them to a sunny window. It's a rookie mistake I suppose, and hopefully this experiment will be successful. Here's hoping for some much-needed spring being forced into wintertime! What about you? Do you force the issue?

—Rose Rankin