The very first holiday season after Shelby and I were married, someone at his office gave him an amaryllis plant for Christmas. He brought it home and I read the instructions, finding a sunny window for it to live. We watered it and we waited.
It bloomed that year...and the year after...and has every year ever since! Here's a photo from one of the first years. Can you believe that one bulb shot up several stems after just a year or two?
Our amaryllis was a regular part of our holiday decorations and celebrations...
when the kids were little, they loved watching the big red flowers make their debut. So exciting to see in the middle of winter!
One year, after the pot had been tucked away in the basement for its dormant season for a few months, I brought it back up in April. I just wanted to see what would happen...could I have a springtime bloom too?
Sure enough, with enough time in a sunny window, those bright green leaves shot up and we were rewarded with brilliant red flowers. After the blooms were spent, I planted it (pot and all!) out behind the barn. I thought soaking up some sunshine would be good for it and by that time we were past the danger of frost.
When October rolled around, I went out to bring in the bulb and keep it from frost over the winter. Ever since, we've enjoyed it in the spring instead of at the holidays, but it still reminds me of our early Christmases so long ago.
In the MANY years since we first received it, it's grown and split into SIX bulbs. My record number of blooms was 64 at one time...can you imagine?
Do any of you have a special plant or flower that has been around forever like this one? I'd love to hear about it...
