Why I Oughta...

I put together a pair of evergreen arrangements for my Sisters that include a bunch of foraged materials - including Thuja, Spruce, Boxwood and Yew clippings as well as a little bit of euclalptus and some branches from both Magnolia and Alder trees.  The vases are, of course, thrifted.

Yesterday, I posted the details of the first of our two Christmas Amaryllis bulbs - the Double Dream Amaryllis .  Today, are a few photos and some details of the second one named Exotic Star Amaryllis.  This one is also one of the 'larger', individual bulbs from Wannemaker's vs the ones you find in the 'kits' at big box stores.  History tells me that these *usually* do better than the kit bulbs.   NOTE:  Last year, I had a dud - a Samba Amaryllis never grew a flower stalk .   The Double Dream is named appropriately - as it is a 'double amaryllis' - with two layers of petals in the bloom. The Exotic Star is a 'single amaryllis' with one layer of petals.  This one stuck out - when looking at the boxes on the shelves.  (There are also something called 'Spider Amaryllis'.  I grew a variety named La Paz Amaryllis last season .  They're different, but quite striking.) Longfield Gardens describes the Exotic Star:   "The flo...

As is the custom around here, we planted some Amaryllis bulbs in small containers in the time right around Thanksgiving.  We picked this one up - the Double Dream - at Wannemaker's.  Below is the bulb set in the soil and below that is the plant/bulb tag showing the fully-grown pinkish full bloom of the Double Dream Amaryllis.  

Last year, I made my first few Winter arrangements featuring a mix of foraged materials and some store-bought highlights.  Last year, I leaned heavily on evergreens and ecualyptus with the only pops of color coming from either red Dogwood branches or crabapples that I foraged from parking lot trees. Here's the first one I made last year in a vintage Santa ceramic pot .  And, here's what I called V2 - that was more upright and I put together in a Goodwill thrifted vase .  I used some foraged curly Willow branches to give that one A LOT of height.    I also bleached pinecones for the first time and I liked how those turned out - the sort-of 'stood out' or had more contrast against the green needles.  And, I even started to give them away - here's one I gave to my sister .   With all of the dahlia arrangements that I worked on this Summer, I felt emboldened to go a little bit further with my 2024 Winter (evergreen) arrangements.   Last yea...

It is still Amaryllis season in our house with three different varieties all working on their own (different) schedules in terms of bloom time.  The fastest one - out of the gate - was the La Paz .  It is a Spider Amaryllis and has a different look than the traditional spade-shaped-petals of most Amaryllis that we've grown.  Our La Paz Amaryllis bloomed in mid-December .  And is still putting out blooms today.  Pretty good.  The next one - the feature of this post - is the Rilona Amaryllis.  This is another unique (to me) bulb in that it isn't red and it isn't white.  And it isn't red and white.  It is salmon-colored.  And quite lovely.  Doesn't have the same OOOMPH that a dark red one does, but still a really lovely flower and the color sure brighten ups the dark days around here in January.  Reminds me of the Disneyland Rose . Here's a post showing the three bulbs when we bought them at Wannemakers . Here's a post just about ...

I went to the orange big box store to look for a Winter Rose Pointsettia this weekend and while I didn't find any of those (they had just the traditional pointsettia), I did find a large rack of Hellebores.  They're all white ones that are in quart nursery containers.  They were (originally) listed for $9.98 and now have been marked down to $4.99.  They're an all white-turning-to-light-green flower variety.  See below for the hellebores: I'm wondering to myself....can these be planted in December?  I mean...the ground isn't QUITE frozen yet and they ARE hardy to our zone.  Would they survive?  Or, could I just keep them alive as houseplants until Spring?   A quick search on the Web turns up answers like this : Container-grown hellebores can be used as houseplants. They prefer to be grown in garden soil but will survive indoors. Give them plenty of light during the winter months and indirect light in the summer. This action will mimic their n...

Just a few days ago, I posted photos of the three different Amaryllis bulbs that we're growing this season and showed how the new (to us) Spider variety - La Paz - was way, way, way ahead of the others.  Just a few days later and the La Paz is putting on a full holiday show.    It has three tall, slender (maybe too tall) flower stalks that each have multiple flowers dangling from the top.   See below for the current state: I say 'maybe too tall' because I didn't get around to watering this with an alcohol mix until it was too late, so it shot way up.  I've used a single-prong flower stem support to keep them upright.  As the stalks were growing up, I was able to sort-of 'tuck' them into the support and keep them centered and (hopefully) stop them from flopping over. Here, below, is the Amaryllis support that I use to keep the top-heavy flowers from flopping-over.  It is about 12" tall and I stick it into the soil at the base of the bulb.

Yesterday, I posted a couple of photos of my first winter (evergreen) arrangement that I put together using foraged materials and a vintage Santa planter that we had on hand.  As is wont to happen around here, things took off fast and winter arrangements are my entire personality right now.  I've put together a number of them and have added an even wider array of materials - some foraged and some bought.  Below is one of these V2 winter arrangements. It features crabapple branches (for some red), eucalyptus (from TJ's), some Magnolia leaves and a number of different evergreens - pines, cedars, juniper and firs.  There's also a couple of different branches in this one - curly willow and red (might be dogwood) uprights. I made four of these (all a little bit different) and put them in vases from Goodwill.  This one is a Hoosier Glass 4090 (Green Swirl) that I was drawn to at the store on Ogden Ave.   The other ones are in reds and/or clear vases - all f...

Back in mid-November, we bought three different Amaryllis bulbs and planted them indoors in three identical terracotta containers .  In some years, we get blooms timed right up with Christmas.  In other years, we end up with blooms that arrive in January or later.  Either is great - having blooms early or having them arrive late.  This year, we *may* end up getting a bit of both.    As I mentioned in the intro post , the La Paz (Spider Amaryllis variety) was off to a fast start.  That has continued with (now) three flower stalks that have shot up and the first of which is already opening.  See below for the La Paz Amaryllis: With a couple of weeks until Christmas, I'm thinking we'll have Spider blooms come December 25th. Next up, and a little behind the La Paz, is the Rilona (Galaxy variety) Amaryllis.  This bulb has shot up one bloom stalk (so far), but it is much more compact that the La Paz.   See below for the current state of t...

'Tis the season for indoor Winter gardening.  It wouldn't be the Christmas season around here without growing some Amaryllis flowers from bulbs.  I've worked with the kids for a number of years to plant and grow some Christmas flowers.  Here's a look at last year's Amaryllis bulbs .   We picked three bulbs out at Wannemaker's Holiday Open House in November and planted them up.   The three varieties we selected were new to us:  La Paz - a Spider Amaryllis.     This La Paz is a Spider Amaryllis or 'Cybister'.  This post details how they're different: Over the last decade, Cybister Amaryllis have become increasingly more popular. Originally hybridized in South America, Cybister Amaryllis have narrow, somewhat spidery flower petals that appear more species-like than their big saucer-shaped cousins. La Paz has upper dark coral petals, while the lower petals are greenish-white edged in dark coral with darker midveins and a starburst ...

We're one month past Christmas.  I think that's enough time to pass for me to officially declare that my PaperWhites are a failure.  No blooms at all.  I bought them in early November - a week-plus ahead of when we traditionally buy and start our Amaryllis bulbs.  But...here's the key (I think):  I bought them from the orange big box store .  I planted them as directed:  in gravel.  And watered them in up to the middle of the bulbs.  They responded immediately.  And strongly.  With a thick, dense and vibrant root mat that came off of each of them.  They also shot up new green shoots from the top of the bulbs.   Based on what I've done before (with Amaryllis bulbs) and what was suggested on the Web, I watered them in with a diluted alcohol mixture .  In an attempt to stunt their growth and keep them from 'flopping over' and getting too leggy.   I last checked-in on these in mid-December.  More than ...

In early December, I p icked up a 6" Winter Rose Poinsettia for $9 at the orange big box store and brought it home for the season .  We have - typically - bought a Christmas poinsettia, but when we came across the Winter Rose, I did a quick Web search to learn a little bit about this specific variety. By now - late January - our typical Christmas Poinsettia is usually looking pretty ratty.  Leaf-drop, leggy stems, etc.    The Winter Rose promised a longer shelf life and that's turned out to be true for us - in a big way.  See below for the Winter Rose Poinsettia that is sitting on our kitchen table today: I'd call this plant being in 'full bloom' - but I know it isn't blooming.  Those are leaves, not flower petals. But...still....look at it.  It is thriving.   What's not to love about this pop of color well-past Christmas?  January and February are hard, hard months for growing, so seeing this thing do so well has really affirmed - for m...

The last of the new Amaryllis bulbs is in full bloom this season.  A week ago, I showed the Flamenco Queen flowers on a very tall, slight stalk .  Today I'm posting a photo of the red and white striped Sunshine Nymph in full double bloom.  This is the second-straight season that we've grown the Sunshine Nymph and in both situations it bloomed after Christmas.  Here's last year's post from early January (just about a year ago today) when that version of the Sunshine Nymph was in bloom .    I attempted to keep and force last year's Sunshine Nymph this year , but so far, no stalks or buds.  

We didn't get Christmas blooms out of this Flamenco Queen Amaryllis bulb, but the wait was worth it.  I last posted a photo of this plant at the very end of 2022 and showed the stalk had shot up with a bud at the tip .  Today?  It is wide-open.  And has two of the most-striking flower blooms on opposite sides of the stalk that we've ever grown.  See below for a look at the Flamenco Queen with red and white-striped petals and a lime-green center. Below is a photo showing that 'opposite' set of blooms.  And the two more that are on their way: This is also - by far - the tallest, lanky-est Amaryllis we've ever grown.  Even after we 'poisoned it' with an alcohol mix in December.  How tall? It is showing blooms that are 25.5" above the top of the bulb.  See below for the measurement:  It has started to lean, so I stuck in a plant support that you can see below.  The hard part with these Amaryllis bulbs and plant supports is that the widt...

Yesterday, I showed the high and low blooms on the Magic Touch Amaryllis that we grew this Christmas season .  We also planted two *other* new bulbs at the same time - a Flamenco Queen and a Sunshine Nymph.  Neither of these bloomed for Christmas.  But, both of them have tall, proud stems with a large bud on top.  But, neither have made any moves to open or bloom just yet.  Maybe by New Year's Day? Here's the Sunshine Nymph Amaryllis below.  First a photo of the tag and then followed by a shot of the tip of the stem: And, here below, is the Flamenco Queen Amaryllis.  This one is very tall and slender.  I've been watering them with an alcohol mix, but that didn't seem to slow this one down.  It started to lean a little bit, so I used this plant support to keep it upright. 

Twelve days ago, I showed our first Amaryllis bloom:  A magic touch set of two flowers that didn't grow up at all - just bloomed straight from the bulb .  Weird.  The other two (new) bulbs still haven't flowered.  But, they've shot upwards.  This post shows the post-Christmas view of just the Magic Touch - I'll get to the other two tomorrow.   Did we get Christmas blooms this year?  Yes.  We did.  The Magic Touch.  We're going to get New Years blooms, too.  Here's what the top of the Magic Touch looks like today:

A week ago, I posted an update on the three new Amaryllis bulbs that we're growing this year and talked about how they are at different stages of growth .  One of them - the Magic Touch - is what I'd call the furthest along and has two flower stalks.  But, those two are VERY different, too.   One of them is taking a normal shape and form.  Tall and proud.  With a flower bud at the top.  The other one?  Failed to launch.  Didn't grow much up from the bulb at all.  But what did it do?  It flowered.  ALREADY.  A mid-December Amaryllis bloom.  Holy moly.  This is a lovely red, too.  What do I mean by 'failure to launch'?  See the photo below showing the two flower stalks.  The one in bloom is barely out of the bulb: And, here's a look at the backside of the bloom showing that ANOTHER flower is set to open in the same spot: Magic Touch Amaryllis is a fast-mover (for us, this year) and has produced the e...

We're growing Paperwhite bulbs for the first time this holiday season.  In early November, we bought an inexpensive package of Ziva Paperwhite bulbs at the orange big box store and planted them in a glass jar with some gravel at the bottom .  A couple weeks later - and one month ago today - we decided to add a little bit of rubbing alcohol to the mix in an attempt to stunt their overall growth .  (Everything you read on the Web will tell you that Paperwhites are prone to flopping over, so the alcohol keeps them compact in size.) With two weeks to go until Christmas, how are the Paperwhites doing?  Here, below are a few photos: They've grown up and most of the bulbs have multiple stems (and or leaves) that have emerged.  They're not yet to the top of the jar, but a couple of them are getting close (see the last photo that shows the tips compared to the rim of the jar).   A couple things of note here in the Paperwhite Diary.  First... is that *some*...

We're about half-way between when we planted our annual Christmas Amaryllis bulbs and the big day - December 25th - when I would (ideally) want blooms.  This is a (partial) progress report showing the three newly acquired bulbs .  Why just these three new ones (and not the bulbs that I kept from last year)?  Because these are the ones that are showing action on the stalk growth and the three that are furthest along.   All three of these bulbs were bought from Wannemakers in early/mid November and were planted up right around Nov 17th.  That puts these three weeks from their first watering.  And just over two weeks until Christmas Day.  Will any of them bloom in time?   First up is the Flamenco Queen Amaryllis .  This is what I think is the most unique of the three - with green centers and white-speckled red petals.  The leaves and first flower stalk are up out of the neck of the bulb, but not too much height so far.  Phot...