I got this email this morning from an elderly friend who lives south of Houston. I gave her (and her husband) several amaryllis bulbs in time for Christmas blooms:

"I can't remember anything I've enjoyed more lately than watching those gorgeous amaryllis blooms. They are on a bench between the kitchen table and the big window so I see them most all day and at night when we're eating or playing cards. The white H. Wedding Dance was the first to bloom and it had 1 bloom that faded and then 3 others opened up and are just now beginning to fade. H. Razzle Dazzle has been gorgeous and had all 4 blooms open at one time and are beginning to fade but it has another stalk growing up in the middle that I guess will bloom when the others die. But H. Miracle is the most spectacular of all of them. It has been the slowest to grow and bloom and the stalk is much larger than the others. It had 1 huge bud on top that has opened and 1 flower is blooming now and is a gorgeous deep red color and huge bloom facing the table so we can enjoy it. There are 2 other buds that will bloom soon, I guess, and then 1 tiny bloom that will take awhile so we will have a long time to enjoy that one. I'm sure you've seen all of these bloom and know what I'm talking about but I just want to tell you again how much we have enjoyed them and thank you very much."

I've been lucky to share so many bulbs this year with friends and coworkers. I hope I've turned some people on to them!! Almost every day someone will come by my office to report on how tall the scapes are, how pretty the blooms are, or how well the leaves are now growing.

Sigh....this is what it's all about.
K