May 31

This last year we decided to try some advice we found on the web regarding amaryllis bulbs. At the end of the summer, we pulled the bulbs, put them in paper bags, and stuck them in the back storage room in the basement.

Then we promptly forgot they existed.

This weekend we found ourself in that same room searching for coffee filters. I noticed a pink and white striped fabric-like thing sticking out of an old paper bag and was shocked to discover that one of our amaryllis bulbs from last fall had actually bloomed! The stalks were white and the leaves a sickly yellow, but they were growing. We planted all of the bulbs in a pot and set them on the kitchen table. Over the next few days the stalks and leaves started to green up and more blooms opened.

I'm grateful for the tenacity of nature and that we were in a position to notice. It's kind of cool to have amaryllis blooms in the summer. But next year I'll actually mark on the calendar when to bring them back out.