Showing posts with label green amaryllis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green amaryllis. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I am sure that the gardens are in bloom in Ireland today, while we are still mired in snow and mud.
My husband is Irish and we had a wonderful vacation there several years ago.
The beach picture was taken at Tonakeera Point in Connemara, one of the world's most beautiful secrets. We had this lovely spot to ourselves even on a sunny day in July.
Irish gardens are beautiful; the second picture here shows the Burren from the Greggins Castle garden.
Think green today! You can see more of my Ireland photos on Etsy.



Find of the Day:

blimey limey squishy delicious fiber batt
How about some Irish merino wool batting fopr your crafting needs? And what better color for St. Patrick's Day than this gorgeous chartreuse with a little hot pink, wow!
This batt can be ordered direct from Ireland from Maisiehandspun on Etsy.





Monday, January 19, 2009

Amaryllis

A night without snow. I still need sustenance from the cold and noticed that my amaryllis bulbs are beginning to send up their stalks. I never tire of these amazing voluptuous blooms. They are now available in dozens of colors from the pure reds to pale greens and whites, stripes and variegations, singles, doubles and even miniatures. I have never seen an amaryllis that was not beautiful.

Amaryllis are very easy to grow when you start with a new bulb. You just pot it up in normal potting soil with the throat bare and give it a little water occasionally. Not too much water or you may get leaves but no flower. A little bottom heat can help too.

On the other hand there are many different ideas on how to hold the plants over to the next year and get them to flower again. The most common approach is to water regularly and fertilize heavily after flowering and through the summer. Then in the fall withhold water and let the bulb die back. Then begin watering lightly til the new flower bud emerges. This approach works but I have never had the bulb produce as many big flowers as the the first year.

I have also read to put the bulbs into the ground in late spring when frosts are over and repot in the fall to get big fat bulbs and many flowers. I tried this one year but forgot to dig them up in the fall so all I can tell you is that amaryllis are definitely not hardy through a New Hampshire winter.





Find of the Day:
Wow talk about dramatic and elegant, who would want to wash with this soap? I just want to look at it.
But it is made with olive oil and other natural oils to make your skin soft and healthy. Scented of black licorice.
From Savor on Etsy.