Friday 15 February 2008

Saturday Photo: Floral Extravagance

There are times when being well-behaved just doesn't cut it, and I think the middle of the winter is one of them. I love the way amaryllis flowers are anything but self-effacing. They are gorgeous, big, flashy, improvident, and wonderful. Can you imagine anything more spectacular than plants which give you two flower stocks per bulb with four flowers per stock? That they bloom when the world is full of darkness is even more fabulous.

These amaryllis are ones sold by the Canadian Huntington Foundation. For the last several years we've bought two (one of Lee's colleagues sells them) and they've lit up the darkest days of winter. Friends have been able to coax them into bloom a second year, but so far I haven't. At the moment four bulbs from previous years sit in pots in the basement, sprouting leaves, so I shall try again. But even if I don't get more flowers, we've had a grand show for a good cause.

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