Just before Christmas, I remembered to visit a local nursery to gather a few bulbs for forcing. Pickings were slim, but I bagged a couple hyacinths and an amaryllis.
Hyacinth bulb
The anticipation of a flower can be just as enjoyable as the bloom itself, I think, especially when it’s kept close at hand so its growth can be observed each day. This vase, which typically sits in a north-facing kitchen window, was moved to a sunny location to illuminate its roots for the photo. If the flower comes to fruition, it will be as white as its roots and its sweet fragrance should fill a large room.
I’m making bean soup today and had such a smile on my face when I pulled my vintage bowl out for soaking the dried beans, I thought I would share a photo of the mismatched trio which filled my carry-on bag during the trip home from England in September.
A trio of English mixing bowls.
Found at the Cirencester Antiques Centre, I have to admit I get quite a thrill every time I see Mrs. Patmore using similar ware in the Downton kitchen. And yes, everyone in the tour group had a good chuckle over my “big find,” but I dearly love them.
Visit Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see how other gardeners are filling a vase today.
Hortitopia 
I still use bowls like this on a regular basis! Everyone seems to have some bulbs today – makes it feel as if spring is close at hand.
Christina–Yes, I think we are all looking to the future.
You carried these bowls home? Good for you! Must have been very heavy… I love forcing bulbs: am on my third batch of paperwhites right now.
Libby–It was a pull-along bag, so not too bad. I always take as little with me as possible so there is lots of room to bring home a prize or two.
Anticipation….I love waiting for bulbs in winter to bloom.
Donna–Forced bulbs make a nice bridge between the turn of the new year and spring.
I thought the bowls looked very English – I have one just the same.
Susan–Sometimes I think I’m living in the wrong country. If it wasn’t for family…
I have never tried forcing bulbs. You are an inspiration to do so…next year.
John–It is ridiculously easy, you won’t have any trouble.
Love your bowls..I have them and have used them constantly. With bulbs growing like yours its the anticipation which leads us through the dull months…soon everything will be springing into life
Noelle–The bowls seem to be right for just about everything. I love ’em.
So much promise. How optimistic! P.S. My largest mixing bowl is just like those and it is brilliant.
Frogend–I think that is a big part of the reason I like the bowls so much, they are still used! Not only are they “just right” for food prep, they make me feel more a part of the British culture that is my heritage. The earliest ancestor we’ve traced on my mother’s side of the family emigrated from London to Virginia with two brothers in the 1680s.
Loved my Staffordshire bear from there also ! M
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Marcia–It was a great place to shop. I’m ready for the next visit!
I have a couple of “mixing bowls” that my grandmother and mother used. Treasures, as my grandgirl says!
Martha–I have one of my grandmother’s bowls too, but I am afraid to use it so it sits on a shelf.
Try and get to a car boot sale next time you come – you should be able to pick them up cheaper. And there used to be at least one Mason Cash outlet shop in Derbyshire or Staffordshire somewhere because they do still make them. I wish you every success with the hyacinth – I have such variable results this way that finally I have reverted to just growing them in pots. Did you have to keep it in the dark first?
Cathy–I would love to get to a car boot sale, but I’m not sure how I would manage it. The price on the bowls was good, so I was happy to pay it and claim my prize!
Next time you come to the UK let me and we could work out where your nearest ones might be – they happen all over the country on a different scale and in large numbers, particularly on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays from about Easter to September…
I have a couple of Gripstand bowls myself! You can still buy them from specialty shops like Williams Sonoma. They are great when you need to tilt the bowl to beat something and the handy ‘foot’ holds it in place. I, too, noted Mrs. Patmore using them in the last episode. 🙂
Eliza–I priced purchasing the bowls here many years ago and found them to be expensive, plus I was hoping for vintage ware with a genuine, hands-on connection to the UK.
A great souvenir and memento of your trip. I would love to go the UK again. I was last there in 1980. Too long!
The hyacinth-in-waiting is a perfect offering for a cold winter day–so full of promise. Beautiful bowls.
You’re right – anticipation is at least half the fun with forced bulbs!
Marian, what a nice reminder that even the smallest, simplest things can bring such joy!
Oh Marian, I had to laugh as I also brought a large stoneware pudding bowl back from the UK some years ago! I use it constantly, so I was horrified this Christmas to hear my Mum had given hers away as she found it too heavy… hope it also found a good home as hers was true vintage from the 50s! Enjoy the soup! 😉
Cathy–I hope your mom’s bowl found a good home too. I have to admit, there is something about these bowls that makes me very pleased with myself.
My mother always used Mason Cash mixing bowls and so do I. Bean soup, that sounds good.
It’ s lovely to watch hyacinths unfurling at this time of the year.
Chloris–the bean soup with bits of ham was lovely. I think it had a lot to do with the bowl:-)
Whole article about your bowls and Mason Cash Pottery in the most recent (Winter, 2016) edition of The Cottage Journal (Volume 7, Issue 1, page 18) entitled, “Bowled Over.” I recognized them immediately!
It’s the little things in life 🙂 I love your bowls!
Wish I had some hyacinths.