February Is For Amaryllis

Amaryllis ‘Splash’

In our house, we need all the blowsy tropical glory of amaryllis we can get in February. December has it’s own charms. January should be cold and snowy. But by February, we are starting to fray around our winter edges.

This year we seem to be enacting a climate change ballet again where the weather is shoved back a month. Instead of a January filled with single digit temperatures and hills of snow, it’s hitting in February. And though I adore snow, I can’t really play in it this season due to back surgery recovery. Next winter, I’m seriously considering picking up some cross country skis, thus ensuring it will never snow more than an inch again.

Amadeus (bicolor) and Black Pearl

Amaryllis (Hippeastrum sp.) are native to South Africa. They are easy houseplants for my part of the world. I keep two or three over each year, letting them go dormant in late August for six weeks. I basically stop watering them and pick up the watering can again in December. They live in the south window of my study and cheerfully wave to the neighbors. I’ll often give them as gifts to the hard-to-buy-for crowd and occasionally pick one out for myself.

How can you not love a flower as big as your face? They sort of glitter at the edges in bright sunlight. Since we’re likely to get another three inches of snow tonight, I’m going to cuddle up with these magnificent blossoms and soak in their saturated colors.