Thanks to the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee to our west and Hurricane Katia off the east coast, we have been mired in a miserable, rainy system. The weatherman has assured us that the weather will begin to clear up this afternoon, so hopefully I will be able to venture into the garden and pick all the beans that are finally ready!
In the meantime, I spent the morning on an indoor gardening project–planting bulbs to bloom indoors this winter.
Some people have success using only small stones in shallow pots. I have better luck using a combination of stone and soil. Many of my pots have no drainage holes, so first I laid down a layer of stones, about an inch deep. On top of that, I put an inch or two of potting soil, in this case mixed with tiny aquarium pebbles to enhance drainage. Then I set in the bulbs, pushing them lightly into the dirt. These are tulips, Daydream and Happy Generation, both labeled as mid-season bloomers.
Next, I filled dirt in between the bulbs and moderately watered the pot. For indoor forcing, the tips of the bulbs should remain above soil level. I covered the dirt in some of my pots with little stones for decorative purposes.
All of the pots now rest on a shelf in my garage. In a day or two, once they have had a chance to dry out a bit, I will plunge them into wintery darkness with several layers of newspaper.
When the temperature out there drops below freezing, probably near Christmas, I will move them to our cool basement, keeping them in the dark. Once they send up shoots, I will give them some time under the grow lights, and then move them upstairs to bring some happy color into the gray days of February and March!
Today I planted paperwhite narcissus, tulips Angelique, Daydream, and Happy Generation; daffodils Tete a Tete and Tahiti, crocuses, and iris reticulata. All of these should do well indoors, though I may need to stake the tulips and Tahiti daffodil. Other tried and true bulbs for indoors include tulip Red Riding Hood, hyacinths, and of course amaryllis. 
I can’t wait to see the heads of the bright yellow Tete a Tete daffodils bobbing above this pot.
And how pretty will the paperwhites be, nodding above this lovely bowl?
Cosmos and Cleome 