Warm Blooms for Winter Days: GBBD, February 2024
In Maine, we are on the downhill side of winter, more than halfway from the winter solstice to the spring equinox. Days are getting longer, and the higher angle of the sun, combined with temperatures above freezing on many days, is melting snow. I can see bare ground under trees and along the foundation of the house, where some new shoots of green are visible.
Despite these hints of spring to come, it will be about six weeks until the first flowers bloom out in the garden. This is a time of year, when winter is getting old and I am eager for spring, that I particularly welcome the warm colors of indoor blooms. Potted amaryllis (Hippeastrum) bulbs fill the bill.
In late October, I put the potted bulbs away in the basement for a period of dormancy. I began taking them out again in late December, one-third at a time, to stagger their blooming. Hippeastrum is a tropical bulb that likes heat, so it takes them a while to grow in my cool winter house. The first to flower was ‘Dancing Queen,’ a plant with big red-orange and white double flowers that I received as a Christmas gift from a friend several years ago. I’m not normally a fan of double flowers, but this one provides a big, delightful splash of cheerful warmth in the depth of winter, and it always makes me smile. Because the flower stem is very tall (possibly another effect of slow growth in a cool environment), I’ve placed ‘Dancing Queen’ on the floor in front of a glass door that leads out to the deck from my bedroom. The door doesn’t get used in winter, and this position means that I see the flowers first thing each morning, backlit by the rising sun.
By the time these flowers fade, other varieties will follow. Currently, I have developing buds on four additional amaryllis bulbs. When they finish blooming, the first flowers of spring will be opening outdoors.
Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day is a tradition developed and hosted each month by Carol Michel at May Dreams Gardens. Visit her blog to see what other gardeners have blooming in February.
Jean's Garden 
‘Dancing Queen’ is a lovely Hippeastrum! Even here in coastal SoCal, I don’t know how I got by before “discovering” Hippeastrums – and Dahlias. The former get me through the less colorful days of winter (or what passes for winter here) and the latter helps keep the color going during the dog days of summer. I’m glad you’re already seeing signs of spring’s approach.
Lovely to see those beautiful amaryllis blooms! My Dad always kept a couple going each year, and when they moved to Arizona, he planted one outside each year and they all kept blooming. Glad to see that Dancing Queen has not tumbled over as those tall double-blossomed plants are wont to do! Jan
Janet M. Powers
The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe, the less taste we shall have for destruction.
Rachel Carson
Beautiful!!
A cheerful start to your day!