Bring the beauty of gardening indoors with amaryllis bulbs and paperwhites. Both of these are easy to grow and will add a fresh feeling of something new and something growing to your living space. Potting up either of these will take you little time but for weeks to come you will be rewarded with a satisfied feeling of being the gardener extraordinaire!

Light up your garden with Christmas lights. When it comes time to put up your Christmas lights instead of lighting up your house (or as wells as) how about lighting up your trees. I always love when the Christmas lights on Shoppers Row go up. One of the things I love about winter is seeing the outline of magnificent trees. There is much to be learned about growing and pruning trees from standing back and observing the form of mature trees.

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Enjoying the scent and beauty of paperwhites during the winter is one of the simplest ways to bring your garden indoors. Not only does it smell and look beautiful, it also adds a growing/living element to your home. For young and old alike, it is fun to watch them grow.

It can be nice to plan for paperwhites to bloom during the Christmas Holidays when families are together and we enjoy entertaining in our homes. Paperwhites make great gifts. They are simply enough that children could plant them as gifts for grandparents or special teachers.

However you decide to grow them I'm sure you will enjoy their beauty and lovely scent.

You will need:

A shallow bowl or pot about 6 inches across. Clear, glass bowls are both beautiful and allow you to enjoy the novelty of seeing the roots grow.Enough pebbles to fill the pot. You can also use other materials to plant your bulbs into such as marbles or glass beads.5 paperwhite bulbs (or more if you choose a larger container.)

Plant your paperwhites in pebbles in shallow containers (or shallow in deeper containers). The bulbs should be deep enough to be anchored down but do not completely cover them. You can plant larger containers with more bulbs and the bulbs look best planted close together. Add water to your container but be sure that the level of the water is below the bottom of the bulbs.

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Everyone loves the magnificent blooms of the Amaryllis. Trumpet shaped flowers are up to 9 inches across and displayed in shades of pink, white and deep Christmasy red.

Amaryllis hybrids should be grown indoors and make spectacular potted plants that are sure to amaze. Amaryllis Hybrids include Red Lion (large deep red), Lilac Wonder (fuschia pink), Apple Blossom (light, shimmery pink), and Mary Lou (double flower, creamy white with pink edges), Vivaldi (salmon with white stripes) and Pasadena (double red with white star). Amaryllis bulbs are easy to grow for yourself or as Christmas gifts.

Method:

Before planting, place the bulb and its roots in warm water for 2 to 3 hours. Plant in a pot only slightly larger than the bulb, with about one third of the bulb above the rim of the pot. Add potting soil , but do not fill the pot with too much soil, so that there is room for watering. Set the bulb gently into the soil.

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