Amarylis

Every year at Xmas this beautiful flower suddenly appears in box form in box stores across America and Canada.They sell for about $6 and give you your moneys worth when they bloom. Here in Florida I was taking my daily bike ride and saw one of these plants thrown out by the side of the road with the garbage. The flower was past its prime and the leaves turning brown in 2005.

I rescued this plant and dug a hole in the back yard and with compost and water put it to bed for the summer. In the fall when I returned I looked for the plant and there among the weeds and vines which grow on our fence were two tall green leaves. Quickly I dug the plant up and replanted it in a clay pot. The bulb had grown twice as large and looked healthy. I cut the leaves and watched the miracle of nature take its course.

After Xmas that we were rewarded with a beautiful flower. Now in 2011 the rescued plant is again performing magic but today there are seven stems and we will get 28 to 30 blooms. We like our orphan plant and plan to keep it in the family for years to come.The saying is really true." Ones mans garbage is another mans treasure."