Wintertime blooms: Amaryllis

I love winter!

The snow, the cold crisp air, the warm hearty meals, the glowing light from the fireplace, and… the amaryllis flowers.

Yep! colorful fresh flowers all through the winter!

What Are Amaryllis?

They are large, colorful, stunningly beautiful flowers to behold that grow from bulbs. You can enjoy blooms at Christmas time, in January, and in February.

They come in shades of reds, pinks, and whites.

How to Grow Amaryllis

Your item list is small:

Amaryllis Bulb

A Pot 7 inches or deeper

Potting Soil

Water

Fill your pot half way with potting soil.

Place the bulb on top and add more soil until 1/2 of the bulb is covered.

Thoroughly water the soil until it is wet but not soggy.

Put the pot in a warm sunny location.

They like temperatures to be between 70F - 80F. It can take a few weeks before the bulb begins to grow, so be patient.

Water LIGHTLY only when the top inch of soil is dry. Watering too often can cause the bulb to rot.

Turn the pot daily if the stem begins to lean in the direction of the light.

When your amaryllis begins to bloom, move your pot out of the direct sunlight.

To help your blooms last longer, keep them out of direct sunlight.

After the first bloom opens you can cut it and put it in your favorite vase; the other blooms will continue to open. You can enjoy the same length of bloom time when it is cut or remains attached to the bulb.

As a flower begins to fade, cut it off close to the stem to encourage more blooms.

Move your plant back to a sunny spot when it is finished blooming and continue to water it through the winter.

In late Spring, move it outside to a full to part sun location and allow it to grow bigger and stronger. The larger the bulb, the larger the number of flowers!

In the Fall, AFTER the first frost, bring your pot indoors.

Set it in a cool dark location, like a basement or garage, for 8 - 10 weeks.

DO NOT WATER IT!

I know you will feel sorry for it, but it needs a dormant period so it can bloom again for you in Winter. After the dormant period, you can go back to the beginning of these instructions and start all over!

What a fabulous way to chase off the wintertime blahs!

Bachelor's Button Cookies

Cornflower Blue was my favorite color in my box of crayons.

Now, it’s my favorite color in our spring cut flower bouquets.

The deep blue of Centaurea cynus always catches my eye even when it’s mixed with the bright pinks, purples, and green colors that fill our May and June bouquets.

This hardy annual flower goes by many common names.

The name, Bachelor’s Button, comes from the Victorian era when it was customary for a bachelor to place the flower in the button hole of his suit coat to indicate he was unmarried and available.

Cornflower originates from England where the flower is native. Back in the old days of Europe, all grains growing in a field were referred to as “corn”. This wild flower was often seen growing in farmer’s fields and, therefore, was called “cornflower”.

Lastly, the name, Garden Knapweed comes from the Olde English and German word “Knobbe” - which means a knob, bump, button, or bud. The flower, in it’s bud stage, is a hard and compact, like a thistle. Knapweed is closely related to thistles.

When the puritans brought this flower with them to the New World they grew it for its beauty, medicinal purposes, and delightful taste.

We still have all of the colors (pinks, purples, white, and dark burgundy) available to us for growing today.

Cornflowers are edible, too!

Some of my favorite tea blends have cornflower in them; it adds a lovely peppery taste.

The petals can be mixed into salads or used for decorations on baked goods like cookies and cakes.

There’s even a cookie named after this flower.

You will find a wide variety of recipes for Bachelor’s Button cookies.

I have included a basic simple recipe for you to try while you enjoy these beautiful flowers in your bouquet, tea, and your garden.

Bachelor’s Button Cookies

3/4 cup butter

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flower

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

In a mixing bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the mixture to the bowl of creamed sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Mix all ingredients together until well blended.

Drop the dough in teaspoon sized balls onto a greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Press a thumb print into the center of the cookie before it is entirely cooled. Be careful! Don’t burn yourself!

I like to add frosting into the thumb print, but you can add jam, a strawberry slice, a chocolate kiss, or anything else your heart desires!

Daffodils

What would spring be without daffodils? I can’t imagine!

The cheerful sunny yellow color is commonly seen throughout neighborhoods across the country announcing the arrival of spring in each growing zone.

Daffodils are so common, we often take their beauty for granted never appreciating the wide variety of colors, shapes, and long vase life they offer for cutting and designing.

They are very easy to grow.

The bulbs and plants are toxic to ingest, so rodents and deer are not a threat to your beautiful blooms.

They return year after year with little maintenance.

Digging and dividing the bulbs every five years will keep the stems tall and the blooms large. When they have finished blooming let the leaves collect sunlight to feed the bulb so it can bloom next year.

They are so low maintenance that they can be grown in turf.

It’s beautiful to see patches of daffodils springing up in the middle of neighborhood lawns.

The landscape has such a lovely wild and natural appeal.

Daffodils outside are a welcoming addition to my gardens, but daffodils cut and brought inside are an elegant touch to my home.

The fresh scent fills my kitchen.

The colors and shapes change as each variety blooms in succession through the season.

I can mix them with tulips, Lenten Roses, and blooming branches from cherry trees, redbuds, and pussy willows.

There are many tips I’ve shared to help you keep your spring arrangement looking beautiful for as long as possible.

You can get my free guide HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR FRESH CUT FLOWERS by clicking here.

All of the tips from the free guide will work for daffodils except for trimming the stems.

Daffodils leak a sappy substance when they are cut.

This sap will pollute the water in your vase.

They don’t mind the dirty water, but the other flowers do.

daffodils should only be cut once.

If they are cut every time old water is replaced with fresh water they will leak sap and pollute it again, so do not trim the stems

Problem solved!

Inviting daffodils into your home is like opening a window to let the fresh spring air fill a room!

~Becky