Hyacinths for #Bumbleance at Horkans in Oranmore

Hello all,

This will be the one of my last posts in my fundraiser for Bumbleance. I started growing  240 hyacinths from bulbs in September/October 2014 and delighted to see them finally flower. They started to flower as early as December, but as I had planted them at various times from October, some of them are only blooming now.

I got great support from Horkans, who sponsored me for the bulbs, pots and compost and I dropped over the the remainder of the blooming hyacinths today. I thank you for making this happen!!!

Check out some of the pictures!

Hyacinths for Bumbleance, available at Horkans in Oranmore

Hyacinths have a beautiful scent

Hyacinths display at Horkans for #Bumbleance

The hyacinths are for sale in Horkans in Oranmore and are 5 Euros, all proceeds to go to Bumbleance.

Big thank you to all who have supported me, and I’ll be posting one more post later in the month with the total amount fundraised!

Have a great evening!

Katleen

Hyacinths for #Bumbleance delivered at #Horkans, great gift for St-Valentine!

Hi all,

I made one final trip to Horkans in Oranmore to deliver some of the hyacinths! Some of the hyacinths are blooming or will be blooming shortly, making it a perfect Valentine’s gift!

I am delighted to say that so far I have raised 710 Euros! If you would like to donate or sponsor me, please click here!

So what does Bumbleance do/offer?

Happy Journeys

BUMBLEance, the children’s ambulance service, provides stress-reducing journeys for children in state-of-the-art, safe and fun vehicles. The bright and fun exterior makes positive first impression which carries through to the interior.

Fun & Games

BUMBLEance has it all! Social media streaming to wish the child best wishes. WiFi, Games console and DVD for a favourite movie/game (or select one on-board). Traditional ‘distractions’ of reading/colouring books etc. also!

Unique Interior

The child friendly decorated interior of BUMBLEance has many unique features. Two parents/carers can travel with child & paramedic. An on-board locker for personal effects is provided along with a fridge for medication/food etc.

Expert Personnel

We only carry sick children & our personnel do all they can to make their every journey happy & safe. They are fully qualified professional paramedics & EMT’s with specialist training, paediatric skills & are Garda vetted.

I started my fundraiser in September, and planted +- 240 Hyacinths bulbs that were s sponsored by Horkans, check out my blog article here. Ever since then I have documented the planting progress, you can check out some pictures here, here, here and here!

Just as a reminder, Voting continues with 2 companies who are choosing which charity to support in 2015. Check out this blogpost on how your vote will make a difference to #bumbleance. Thank you for taking your time to vote for Bumbleance.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of the week!

Katleen

#bumbleance fundraiser , some background, get your Hyacinth at Horkans in Oranmore , Co. Galway

Dear Readers,

My fundraiser is nearly coming to an end for #bumbleance. So where did it all start? I suppose it all started when I was a kid, at Christmas, smelling the lovely scent of a hyacinth!( Attached is a picture of Alex smelling a blooming Hyacinth, history has just repeated itself)

Hyacinth for #Bumbleance, gorgeous fragrance

This made me realize that there is a way to grow hyacinths, and have them ready for Christmas. I did a bit of research and discovered there is type of hyacinth called ” prepared hyacinth” that is treated in such a way that, if you plant them in September, they’ll bloom around Christmas. Once I had figured  this part out, I thought it could  be a nice way of fundraising money, so I picked #Bumbleance, as I have been touched with the story of Liam and Saoirse Heffernan, who both passed away from Battens Disease. #Bumbleance is one initiative that has been developed by the http://www.saoirsefoundation.com/ (provide parents, families and all those affected by Batten Disease on the island of Ireland with support, networking and a credible source of information.  Bee For Battens is a 32 county organisation in Ireland and is active abroad in developing international collaboration amongst Batten Disease Support & Research Organizations. We currently hold the Presidency of the Batten Disease International Alliance.) , there is also Liam’s lodge http://liamslodge.com/ ( respite care).

I contacted Horkans, and they very kindly sponsored me for 240 bulbs of prepared hyacinths back in September. I still remember how excited I was when I got the email to say they would sponsor  me!

I then started to plant halfway October, which, looking back, was too late.. If I am to do it again, I will start planting early September, to be sure that the flowers are blooming by Christmas, or later if I wanted to have Valentine Hyacinths – that’s maybe another idea:)

And I got a bit of help from Alex too 🙂

Alexander helping with #Bumbleance Fundraiser from Katleen Bell-Bonjean on Vimeo.

Fast forward to end of January, and having moved some of the hyacinths into the house, it’s starting to look like a small version of Keukenhof/ Chelsea Flower show!

#bumbleance Hyacinths, starting to bloom

#bumbleance hyacinths maturing

As from Friday this  week, I am moving the remainder of the hyacinths to Horkans in Oranmore, so if you are passing by, come and say hello to the staff! The hyacinths will be 5 Euros and all proceeds to go to #Bumbleance. I am using the hashtag #Bumbleance hoping that it will index better or get picked up by search engines.

I am delighted to say that so far I have raised 710 Euros! If you would like to donate or sponsor me, please click here!

So what does Bumbleance do/offer?

Happy Journeys

BUMBLEance, the children’s ambulance service, provides stress-reducing journeys for children in state-of-the-art, safe and fun vehicles. The bright and fun exterior makes positive first impression which carries through to the interior.

Fun & Games

BUMBLEance has it all! Social media streaming to wish the child best wishes. WiFi, Games console and DVD for a favourite movie/game (or select one on-board). Traditional ‘distractions’ of reading/colouring books etc. also!

Unique Interior

The child friendly decorated interior of BUMBLEance has many unique features. Two parents/carers can travel with child & paramedic. An on-board locker for personal effects is provided along with a fridge for medication/food etc.

Expert Personnel

We only carry sick children & our personnel do all they can to make their every journey happy & safe. They are fully qualified professional paramedics & EMT’s with specialist training, paediatric skills & are Garda vetted.

I started my fundraiser in September, and planted +- 240 Hyacinths bulbs that were s sponsored by Horkans, check out my blog article here. Ever since then I have documented the planting progress, you can check out some pictures here, here, here and here!

Just as a reminder, Voting continues with 2 companies who are choosing which charity to support in 2015. Check out this blogpost on how your vote will make a difference to #bumbleance. Thank you for taking your time to vote for Bumbleance.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of the week!

Katleen

First Hyacinths delivered – how to get to Labane Hall Sunday 14th of December to pick up your Hyacinth

Hi all,

I started to take reservations of Hyacinths a few weeks ago, and most of them are local people, as it’s not really feasible to run around the country in my car , delivering Hyacinths 🙂

I am currently visiting some of my work colleagues in our Dublin office, and brought some of the hyacinths in my car ( they survived the trip) and delivered my first lot today!  This is Maeve, who bought 2 hyacinths, all proceeds to go to www.bumbleance.com

Maeve with Hyacinths at EBAY

I have another +- 200 Hyacinths at home nurturing inside, and look forward to see you all on Sunday, at the Sale of Works of three local schools. This year the event is organized by Labane N.S. and is a major fundraiser for the school. I have included two maps, one if you are coming from Galway:

And the other one if you are coming from Ennis.

The event is not in Labane NS, but in the hall just beside it! I always refer to it as  Labane Hall, but it’s actually called Loughnane-Quinn Memorial Hall. Just in case you have never been there, below is an image of the hall, you can’t miss it!

 

 

In case you are landing on this blog for the first time, I have planted 240 hyacinth bulbs that will be ready to bloom around Christmas. I’ll sell them for 10 Euros, and all proceeds to go to http://www.bumbleance.com. I was looking for a sponsor, and was delighted that Horkans Gardencentre has sponsored me for the 240 hyacinth bulbs, compost and pots.

So… how can you help me with my fundraiser for #Bumbleance? This depends a bit where you are:)

If you are in  East Galway, you can buy/reserve a hyacinth by calling/texting me on 087 686 0939. I’ll be taking a stall at my kids school sale of works on the 14th of December at Labane hall, so you can pick up your hyacinth(s) then.

If you are in Co. Wicklow, Co. Mayo, Co. Sligo, Co. Dublin and Co. Galway, Horkans has branches there , and I’ll be sending 20 hyacinths to each branch when they are about to bloom, so you can pick up your hyacinth there! Click here to find out where those Horkan stores are.

Oh yes, you can also  text buzz to 50300 to donate 4 Euros or donate directly here.

For those further afield, I am enclosing a link to my fundraising page where you can sponsor me, every penny counts, so thank you very much for your support. So far I raised a whopping 220 Euros- Thank you so much who have sponsored me so far!

Hope to see you all on Sunday:)

Cheers,

Katleen

Hyacinths moved inside, getting ready for Christmas! #Bumbleance fundraiser

Hello all,

Just a quick update on my hyacinth project:), raising funds for Bumbleance!

In case you are landing on this blog for the first time, I have planted 240 hyacinth bulbs that will be ready to bloom around Christmas. I’ll sell them for 10 Euros, and all proceeds to go tohttp://www.bumbleance.com. I was looking for a sponsor, and was delighted that Horkans Gardencentre has sponsored me for the 240 hyacinth bulbs, compost and pots.

The pots were outside until about a week ago, and as it was getting frosty during the night, they are now moved indoors. Here are some pictures.

Not all of them have taken root, but most have, so I am hopeful that those that did root, will be ready to bloom around Christmas.. Fingers crossed!

So… how can you help me with my fundraiser for #Bumbleance? This depends a bit where you are:)

If you are in  East Galway, you can buy/reserve a hyacinth by calling/texting me on 087 686 0939. I’ll be taking a stall at my kids school sale of works on the 14th of December at Labane hall, so you can pick up your hyacinth(s) then.

If you are in Co. Wicklow, Co. Mayo, Co. Sligo, Co. Dublin and Co. Galway, Horkans has branches there , and I’ll be sending 20 hyacinths to each branch towards Christmas, so you can pick up your hyacinth there! Click here to find out where those Horkan stores are.

Oh yes, you can also  text buzz to 50300 to donate 4 Euros or donate directly here.

For those further afield, I am enclosing a link to my fundraising page where you can sponsor me, every penny counts, so thank you very much for your support.

Thanks for you support, please feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions!

Katleen

Mission Accomplished – 240 hyacinths planted for #Bumbleance

Hi all,

It’s been a busy week, and didn’t get a chance to include the video I took last week.. Here it is!

#Bumbleance Fundraiser, planting of Hyacinths – for sale around Xmas from Katleen Bell-Bonjean on Vimeo.

As you can see on the video my patch wasn’t filled up completely, and needed to pot a few more hyacinth bulbs, so I decided to give it one last stab today, and finished planting them all. Hurray!

One part of my mission accomplished – all 240 bulbs planted

It’s a wet and windy day, so whilst the kids were inside watching TV and playing games, our dog Max kept a close eye on what I was doing, and even tried to help out:) 

So what’s happening so far? It’s hard to say, as on the surface there isn’t an awful lot happening. Ok, I can see some tiny green shoots coming out of a few of the bulbs.  But is there really something happening? So I decided to pick up one of the pots I planted a few weeks ago, and was surprised to see that although there mightn’t be much happening on the surface, there has been lot’s of activity underneath, as I saw roots coming through the pots, so I am hopeful that’s a good sign!

Top of one of the first hyacinths I planted 

something is happening as the roots are coming through the pot already

So now I am going to leave them there for a while, and once there is good growth, I’ll move them indoors! The idea is that you first give them the feeling of autumn/winter and then move them into a warmer/sunnier area. So all going well, I’ll have lot’s of Hyacinths around Christmas for sale!

Interested to buy a hyacinth? Drop me a text message on 087 -686 0939 and let me know what your name is, and how many hyacinths you wish to reserve. I’ll be doing a Christmas fair in the local school here in Labane, so you can pick up the hyacinth(s) there. I have 200 single hyacinths, and 20 double ones ( ie 2 bulbs). The single ones will be 10 Euros and the double ones will be 15 euros. You can also drop me : katleenworkinginireland (at) gmail.com

I’ll also be sending some flowers to Horkans, they very kindly sponsored me for the compost, bulbs and compost.

Thank you for reading my blog!

Katleen

Planting our Hyacinth Bulbs for #Bumbleance, sponsored by #horkans

Hi all,

I have been experimenting with Video, and took some footage of planting the first 40 pots. I had a very helpful assistant Alexander Bell! He’s always taking pictures and videos on my phone, so this was his chance to take footage and also feature in it! We had a great time doing this!

Alexander helping with #Bumbleance Fundraiser from Katleen Bell-Bonjean on Vimeo.

Planting Hyacinth bulbs for #Bumbleance from Katleen Bell-Bonjean on Vimeo.

 

Potting Hyacinth bulbs, fundraiser for #Bumbleance from Katleen Bell-Bonjean on Vimeo.

I am currently preparing a way that you can reserve a hyacinth, and pick up your hyacinth locally in Galway . For those further afield, who would like to sponsor me, I’ll be posting a link soon where you can donate/sponsor, if you are interested to sponsor me. If you would like to follow the day to do events of Bumbleance, check out their Facebook page here : Bumbleance Facebook pag or their website here.

Have a great start to the week!

Katleen

Part one – planting Hyacinths Bulbs for my fundraiser for #Bumbleance

Hi all,

Now that I have gotten the bulbs, it’s high time I start planting them, as I would like the hyacinths to flower around Christmas. Horkans in Castlebar very kindly sponsored me for the bulbs, pots and compost, I picked them up earlier this week. If ever you are around Castlebar, call in their store, it’s a very big store, with a great selection of gifts, clothes , a lovely restaurant and of course an incredible selection of garden products, advice and much more.

I was given 240 bulbs in total, and in 3 different colours, there is white, yellow, pink and lilac. They are of the “prepared” type , which means that they are treated so that if you plant them  around now, they will flower around christmas. There are other types as well, I’ll call them the regular type. Those can be planted as well, but they will only flower in spring.

I took some pictures as I was getting prepared for the first part of the planting. I say first part, as I am organizing a Hyacinth Bucket Tea and potting part next week Saturday. Call me if you would like to join 087 686 0939.

I also took some video footage, which I’ll upload later. As you can see we are wearing the new  Bumbleance Tshirts! They have printing on front and back, can be purchased by calling Bumbleance on 083-0044444 or email them at info@bumbleance.com . Kids T-shirts are just €5, Ladies & Gents T-shirts are just €10 as are all beanies and baseball caps. ( all plus p&p at cost).

Thank you for reading my blog!

Katleen

Bulbs picked up at Horkans, let the potting begin!

Hi all,

I picked up the bulbs and pots at Horkans, see below some images I took!

  

In case you are landing on this blog for the first time, I am about to start planting 200 hyacinth bulbs that will be ready to bloom around Christmas. I’ll sell them for 10 Euros, and all proceeds to go to http://www.bumbleance.com. I was looking for a sponsor, and was delighted that Horkans Gardencentre is going to sponsor me for the 2oo hyacinth bulbs, compost and pots.

If you are interested to reserve a hyacinth bulbs, please drop me a line, via the below  contact form or email : katleenworkinginireland (at) gmail.com

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Thanks!

Katleen

Planning a visit to Horkans in Castlebar

Dear Readers,

Just writing a quick update, as my project is starting to shape up! Paraic Horkan from Horkans was in contact to let me know that I’ll be able pick up the bulbs, pots and compost next week tuesday in their store in Castlebar.

Castlebar is in Co. Mayo, and it’s just over 110 kms from where I live. I was in Co. Mayo just the other weekend, as I was flying out of Ireland West Knock Airport. I write another blog about working, living and traveling and wrote an article about traveling from this airport, you an read the article here. I’ll be traveling via this route:

We’ll be taking some pictures, and will share those once I have them!

In case you are landing on this blog for the first time, I am about to start planting 200 hyacinth bulbs that will be ready to bloom around Christmas. I’ll sell them for 10 Euros, and all proceeds to go to http://www.bumbleance.com. I was looking for a sponsor, and was delighted that Horkans Gardencentre is going to sponsor me for the 2oo hyacinth bulbs, compost and pots.

If you are interested to reserve a hyacinth bulbs, please drop me a line, via the below  contact form.

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ

Have a great rest of the week!

Katleen