Gardening Association of North Carolina

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Do you ever wonder how to remind people that you like/love them when you are not around?  Give them something they can plant and enjoy year after year.

When I was young, I bought my mother a hyacinth every Easter because she loved them.  What I didn’t realize was that she planted them and every spring, she had a long line of hyacinths that I had given her.  I wonder what the people who bought the house thought when they saw the display.

My newest obsession is Amaryllis bulbs, and I made the discovery that here in NC, you can plant them outside in the spring and they come back   I realized that when I went to the house of a fellow Master Gardener and she told me to park my car over by the amaryllis.  I saw a large clump of familiar leaves (no flower) and knew where to park.  I asked her how long she had it and she told me ‘several years’.  So the spring after the following holiday season, I planted my first bulb.  I now have at least 8 around the house but only managed to take a few pictures, and I can only find 2 on my overloaded phone.

But this is what you could have if you recycle the spent amaryllis bulb into your garden every year.