My Favorite Plant

Flower & Garden Magazine, Feb, 1999 by Dedra Wolford

Last January, I purchased an amaryllis bulb for the clearance price of $3 at a local store.

Then I sent the bulb, some soil and a flower pot to my sister, Dana, in Knott Co., Ky. She was pleased that I was thinking of her, however, she was very skeptical as to whether the bulb would grow for her since she didn't have a "green thumb."

A short time after planting the bulb, two stalks emerged and several buds rested on each stalk. Then, one evening when she and her husband, Mike, came home from work, he summoned her to the plant. Atop the stalk, nearly 30 inches tall, was a bright pink bloom gazing back at her as she stood there admiring the bloom in amazement.

During the days that followed, her enthusiasm grew and her thumb turned greener. The amaryllis produced a total of 11 blooms measuring 8 to 10 inches in diameter!

This experience is truly an inspiration to all of my family, since the last to join the gardening pleasures (Dana) seems to have the greenest thumb.

-- Dedra Wolford Feds Creek, Kentucky