Hope and love are associated with this Amaryllis. The hope starts around Thanksgiving, when we buy its bulb in a little plastic flower pot of dirt. We put the pot near a sunny window, keep the bulb moist, and greenery soon sprouts. Early in the new year, as we see here, one of its elegant flowers is looking out the window marveling at the snow as another bows gracefully to us. Hope fulfilled.
Oh yes, the love: that comes from the purported Greek myth about the flower’s origin. Amaryllis, a nymph, loved Alteo the shepherd, who didn’t return her love. She pierced her heart with a golden arrow and drops of her blood spilled on the path she took to plead with Alteo. After 30 days, each drop grew into a beautiful flower, which made Alteo fall in love with Amaryllis.
In actuality, the Amaryllis originated in South Africa and its bulb cultivation began in the early 1700s. (Brooklin, Maine)