'Tis the Season

I've heard Christmas music in the stores and I've seen Christmas ads on TV. I won't whine about how these things seem to come earlier every year (though they do), because this time of year means something else for me, too. Something I look forward to every year, almost as much as Christmas.

When late September comes around and it's time to start thinking of getting the garden ready for winter, there are always a number of tender bulbs that I need to dig and bring in. The cannas, callas, dahlias, and glads have all shown their true colors and graced us with their presence in the latter half of summer, but it's time to bring them in out of the cold so we can enjoy them again next year.

And then there are those that have their own special flower bed here at Our Little Acre, though they usually produce only a bloom or two all summer and some years none at all. These spend the summer months merely biding their time, converting the nutrients in the ground and soaking up the sunshine in preparation for the winter. Then it's their turn to elicit oohs and ahhs from their adoring fans.

These are the Amaryllis - more correctly called Hippeastrum. Just as the outside gardens are winding to season's close, I look forward to the Amaryllis season. As I was putting other bulbs away for the winter, I saw tips of green peeking out from the brown bulbs that have been stored in the basement for the past 6-8 weeks. That was my cue to pot them up and by the time Christmas is here, we'll be enjoying their exquisite blooms.

Over the past few years, I've amassed a collection of Amaryllis. Here are some images of the beauty they've given to us in the past:

'Papilio'

'Picotee'



'La Paz'

'Misty'

'Red Peacock'



'Grandeur'



'Apple Blossom'



'Solomon'


'Limona'



'San Remo'



'Lemon Lime'



'Piquant'



'Royal Velvet'



'Dancing Queen'



'Rilona'



'Blossom Peacock'

Many gardeners will buy the bulbs, pot them, enjoy their blooms, then throw them out. I can't bear to do that, so I trim the flower stalk down to where it comes out of the bulb, and continue to water them as long as they are producing foliage. For most of them, the foliage will eventually begin to yellow, at which point I trim them back to the bulb, just as I do in the fall, and they go back into storage until spring, when they are planted in the ground for the summer.

At the moment, 'Blossom Peacock', 'Susan' (purchased new at Meijer last week), and 'Lemon Lime' are potted up for bloom.