illegal dahlias?

Last week when my father came up, he brought with him a rectangular ceramic planter, dirt and dahlia bulbs, courtesy of my mother. Since then the planter, bulbs and earth- along with the bags they came in and some additional seeds I bought at the Coop- have sat on our kitchen counter waiting for me. It's sort of horrible. I cook a lot and these things take up counter space (yes, I know the counter is already cluttered), plus I'd like to get these bulbs into the "ground" so they can start growing.

So my big plan for this weekend was to plant the bulbs and sneak them onto the fire escape. In New York City we all have fire escapes, but there are laws governing what we may and may not put on them. Really, nothing can go on them. It's a fire hazard. You'd think a little pot wouldn't get in the way if we were evacuating up to the roof as long as I stick it over to the side, but apparently we'll fall and trample each other if the planter is there. It would just be horrible.

Except for the joy of seeing the dahlias grow in the sun and the rain!

I am stuck on this idea of them being outside, perhaps because I am inside all the time and this is my one connection to nature. But is it worth the risk of being fined by the fire department? And we're supposed to get 4" of snow this weekend, which also probably isn't so great for my little bulbs. Argh. What to do...