Almost two years ago, with the support of an Irvington Educational Foundation grant, I was among a group of parents, students, teachers and administrators who helped establish a vegetable garden at Dows Lane School. We designed and installed a fenced garden with rectangular wood-framed beds and an underground high-efficiency drip irrigation system.

Today, our small gardening program provides benefits that reach well beyond the garden gate. In addition to enhancing the classroom curriculum, the program inspires personal and social responsibility. It nurtures community spirit, common purpose, and cultural appreciation by building bridges among students, school staff, and local organizations. Kids learn from visiting and maintaining the garden throughout the year: weeding, thinning, fertilizing, mulching, composting, monitoring pests and diseases, and harvesting. Kids gain a sense of ownership and accomplishment and a willingness to try new foods. As well, they obtain life skills.

The kids experience a deeper understanding of natural systems and become better stewards of the Earth by designing, cultivating, and harvesting with their own hands. Our small garden helps teach an environmental ethic, helps demystify the concept of food production, and helps get kids really dirty.

In December, we harvested the hearty carrots and turnips and watched our winter cover crop come up. In January, we keep small busy hands warm inside. Now we plant paperwhites.

Bulbs are miraculous little storehouses that hold not only a future flower, but also a stockpile of plant fuel required to produce an entire season of blooms. Here in New York’s Hudson Valley, typical hardy flower bulbs and the bulbs we often eat (onions, shallots, garlic) require a chilling period before bloom or harvest time. Cool temperatures spark an internal biochemical response that triggers the embryonic flower to start its development. Most flower bulbs (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocus, Dutch iris, scilla) require 16 to 18 weeks of cold before the flower is fully formed. Once the blooms have faded, the bulb is nourished by the foliage and is equipped to produce flowers next season. It is a self-sustaining cycle.

Unlike most bulbs, Narcissus papyraceus is uncomplicated and quiet and doesn’t ask for much. Native to the southeastern Mediterranean’s warm climates, paperwhites are coaxed into indoor bloom with very little effort. Kept evenly moist in a bowlful of pebbles in the sun, they are reliable to the point of being foolproof. The outcome: fast-blooming star-shaped clusters of delicate white sweet-scented flowers—instant gratification in the dead of a northeast winter.

Paperwhites will bloom about 4 to 6 weeks after planting, so if you’d like flowers for special occasions, plan accordingly. For continuous bloom throughout the winter, plant bulbs every two weeks from now until mid-February.

How to plant paperwhites:

• Choose firm top size unsprouted bulbs, free of blemishes or discoloration. Select a watertight container four to five inches in height. Be creative—a small salad bowl, glazed pottery, clear glass vase or wide-mouthed jar is perfect for the job. Choose a size that’s wide enough to hold a small quantity of bulbs shoulder to shoulder.

• Spread a layer of clean river rocks, marbles, glass beads, or gravel along the bottom of the container. Gently position the bulbs, pointed end up, on top of the medium. Paperwhites prefer a big crowd, so squeeze them in. The more the merrier! Add another layer of anchoring material (rocks, etc.) to fill any gaps. Cover the bulbs up to their shoulders, leaving the pointed tips exposed.

• To avoid bulb rot, fill the container with just enough water so it contacts the roots, but not the bulb. Dutch farmers say to keep the water close enough so the bulb can “sniff” it, but not touch it.

• Set the container in a cool location with indirect light. Replenish the water every two to three days. Be patient. When roots develop in two to three weeks, move the container to a sunny window with southern exposure. Once the plants flower, remove the bulbs from direct sunlight and place them in a cooler place with indirect or diffused light.

• Aha! Spirited spring has sprung in the midst of wearisome wintry weeks!

Marcie Cuff lives in Irvington and is the author of Mossy, a blog devoted to hands-on parenting. http://mossymossy.com