I'm so not going to describe my last few days

I've been sick. Miss-work sick, unfortunately. Anything else I say will only bore the snot out of you (but not out of me, worst luck) and reach into the realm of hyperbole since I reeeally want to be all whiny on you folks but am doing my best to hold it all in.

Ignore the grammar (or lack of same) in that last sentence, please.

On the bright side? My amaryllises are flowering. Two out of the five at the moment, which, as much as I like them, is plenty for a one room apartment.

They're funny things, amaryllises. Most people around here buy them as largely disposable Christmas flowers. Oh, you can keep them beyond that, of course. And you can follow all the directions the gardening books will give you for keeping them over to the letter, and you'll likely get growth the next year.

Growth of leaves.

Flowers? In my experience, not so much.

When I was given my first amaryllis (I've never actually bought one, come to think of it. They've all been gifts) I was a good do-bee and tried everything they tell you to do to get flowers in the next year. I lifted the bulb, stored it carefully; all of those fussy things that you're supposed to coddle the plant with. The result? Nothing. The year after that? Nothing. The only reason I didn't just throw it out was that it seemed a shame, since it was still leafing out. That was the year, though, that I got lazy about dealing with the bulb and just threw the entire pot out onto the balcony for the summer.

I brought it in when it put up a flower stalk.

I mean, sure it was in September rather than the optimal decorating time of Christmas, but it was a flower.

I still have that bulb. It flowers every year. I've even split it once. Apparently these things are into benign neglect.

Actually... most of my plants that do well are into benign neglect even if the books say that they shouldn't be. Maybe plants just don't appreciate being fussed over? It's possible.

I've since been given two other amaryllises and have five pots in all because of division. They all just live with the weather and the heat on the balcony in summer and then get brought in when things get colder or if they start flowering, whichever comes first. Right now two are flowering, two probably won't because they're the two I split up this year, and one can't seem to make up its mind. Not a bad track record for plants that just sit in a corner all summer, don't you think?

Well, I think.

And the fact that I've just written an entire blog post about amaryllises?



Shows how little my brain has had to do (or has been willing to do, really) this week.

You didn't miss much.




Bye now.