Here is an idea. If you get a gift of an Amaryllis for Christmas, or buy some for yourself but don’t get them planted before the holiday is over…no worries, one year I bought several of them to give to my staff as gifts, however, I left the company before I was able to give them out. Not wanting to waste them (I have always had them dry out by summer if I did not use them),I gave some to friends and put the rest of them away, thinking maybe I could do something with them later on, but knowing I would probably forget about them and find them once again somewhere in mid-summer dehydrated and beyond salvaging. Plus they reminded me of how much I missed my staff and it made me a bit sad. Winter passed and we were heading into the long and more dreary days of early spring typical to the Northwest, when while out in the garage I stumbled upon the stack of boxes of abandoned Amaryllis bulbs and decided to do something with them. So I planted them all around the house. And to my surprise, they bloomed. My home was now full of large bright red and pink glorious long stemmed and handsome blooms. So cheerful and lovely. From then on, I buy the bulbs (on sale) and put them out during the dreary months to add color and hope for the sun-filled months to come.