MySecretGarden

U.S.A., Washington State. USDA zone 8b. Sunset climate zone 5

An Ugly Duckling Amaryllis Story


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It was dark. It was dark and scary in the little box. And quiet. Very quiet. The box was stacked, with many others, on a shelf in the far corner of the grocery store's garden department.
I suspect that the manager of that store never studied marketing. It's the holiday season when people look for stuff to decorate houses, buy gifts and cheer themselves up. I am the one who suits all of these needs. I am an Amaryllis Bulb! I am the one who brings the holiday atmosphere, who makes a great gift and who cheers everyone up! Everyone likes to watch my green leaves grow and my buds open into a miraculous flower. Who doesn't know that? Obviously, the store manager doesn't know. He or she chose this remote location for the amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs. Who will find us here?????
One day, I heard light steps. Someone was circling around the garden department, walking down the aisles and muttering something. The steps got louder and louder and finally stopped near my shelf. "At Last!" someone said. My heart started jumping. Choose me, choose me, please! And She did! She put my box in a shopping cart and went to the cashier. "What is it? Do you plant them outside"- asked the cashier? "Oh, these are amaryllis bulbs. And some paperwhites. They are great... You might want to try them... You will love them... The instructions are here, on the box. By the way, it would be nice to display them somewhere where customers could see them. It is their time!"
The box was opened at home but instead of excitement and cheer I heard something that made me feel bad. What's the matter with me? Why doesn't She like me? I am big and full of energy. Just give me some planting medium, and I'll show you a wonder! She turned me this and that way, and I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window. Oh, no! No, no, no! I have some growth already! Long days in a dark box resulted in a weak, pale, sickly, bended growth! After some thinking, She grabbed scissors and click - cut my growth off. Down to the trash can it went... This, I thought, was the end to my dreams, ambitiions and expectations. "I needed to open the boxes! I bought a cat in a sack!", She said.
But wait, what is this? What is She doing? She reached into the trash can, moved away a yogurt cup, took the cutting into her hands, turned again left and right and finally, put it into a small bowl with water. It was left in the laundry room and forgotten. Forgotten til one day when everyone in the house heard: "Wow! Come here! Look! Our ugly duckling turned into a beautiful swan! This is what happened with a 6-inch cutting!"
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It was the born-in-the-box bud's moment! It opened into a beautiful flower, and everyone loved it.
It was so happy and so grateful to Her that it decided to thank Her in a special way. Look at these pictures. This is its second bud that appeared seemingly from nowhere.
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By the time the first bloom started fading, the second bud was noticed.
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The second bloom was even more beautiful than the first. Maybe, because it wasn't under the stress of being in the dark box and the trash can.
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How happy She was! She gave the amaryllis a second chance and got rewarded. Everyone deserves a second chance, especially at Christmas time.
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Happy Holidays everyone!
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Copyright 2010 TatyanaS

33 comments:

  1. This was fun to read especially because I love Amaryllis so. Glad you rescued her Tatyana. You have such a gift with storytelling.

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  2. I love Amaryllis too and this story is very charming, with the rescue of the Amaryllis clipping. She is a lovely ethereal color. What happened to the mail bulb?

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  3. Kathleen, thank you! Your amaryllis pictures are outstanding and serve as an inspiration for me!
    Terra, thank you very much! The bulb was planted. We'll see what happens. Will be there other buds? If not, I'll enjoy its leaves, they are beautiful too! In summer, I might plant the bulb outside and let it grow before taking inside in the fall. Other suggestions?

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  4. Great story! I'm glad you got two beautiful flowers from it. The one time I bought an Amaryllis at Christmastime, it was tiny and wasted away, and never grew, probably looked a lot like the one you bought when you first took it out of the box. I've never bought another one. Maybe I should try again.

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  5. Nice story of the poor little Amaryllis. What a lovely bloom you rescued.

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  6. Lovely, beautiful story and equally beautiful flower.

    They are one of my favorites.

    Jen @ Muddy Boot Dreams

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  7. Hi, Tatyana;
    What a sweet story. And, beautiful pics, too. You're getting me excited for my own Amaryllis blooms. ;>)

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  8. That's cool! What a bonus to get a second bud. I've never had that happen before. The flowers die. Your photography is pretty too. Loved how you wove this into a story!

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  9. Such a sweet and an enchanted story of an ugly duckling amaryllis blooms. Trust you to turn it into a fairy tale!

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  10. Well written I was quite upset at the end as I thought the bulb had been thrown but glad to see in the comments that it has been planted. I am very impressed that the cutting flowered - well done you

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  11. Wonderful story, love amaryllis! Nice to visit here again after a long time away. hoping all is well

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  12. Charming story and stunning amaryllis, Tatyana. Happy Holiday!

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  13. I find this story quite amazing~! Beautiful bloom.

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  14. Dear Tatyana, Love the original and charming way you highlighted the beautiful Amaryllis. Pamela x

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  15. Dear Tatyana,Amaryllis is one of my favourite flowers.
    Photos are so pretty!!!

    Bye,bye
    Maurizia

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  16. Thank you for the cute Ugly Duckling Amaryllis Christmas story! Glad your amaryllis got a chance to shine!

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  17. Tatyana, you are the savior of this poor little amaryllis. Actually, it looks pretty good.

    Eileen

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  18. Really lovely story and you were rewarded with not one, but two beautiful blooms. Great photos too.

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  19. I have these growing too and they do give such a beautiful surprise when they bloom.

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  20. Dear Tatyana - what a very sweet Christmas season story. Could not imagine that it would bloom so beautifully after all that trauma. Now I feel guilty as resisted the tempation to buy an 'Appleblossom' one.

    Laura

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  21. I love the ugly duckling. Great story and beautiful blooms!

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  22. Tatyana girl !! Oh my goodness what an amazing story of "the little bud that could" ! .. plants never cease to amaze me and something like this is such a gift from them .. the pictures are wonderful and go with the story so well : ) That was just beautiful !
    Joy

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  23. What a lovely tale to warm a gardener's heart for the holidays! (And what a great reminder, since I want to go shopping for some extra paperwhites this week, to check and make sure I didn't buy a cat in a sack, Tatyana. You are so funny. ;)

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  24. I get I'm supposed to look at the flower, but I'm more interested in what's in your beautiful decanters! :)

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  25. Haha, you're really good in putting a lot of words in a simple story, and we were entertained. Merry Christmas Tatyana.

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  26. Thank you everyone for your kind comments! It was really a big surprise to see that cutting blooming!
    DGG, they are designed for tea and coffee (you can warm them up), but I mostly have juices in them during parties.

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  27. great story I'll think of it today as I plant narcissus

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  28. HI Tatyana..yay...what a wonderfully-beautiful story..you have enchanted my heart...sooo inspiring! thanks for your lovely visit! have a sparkling day!
    Kiki~

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  29. Tatyana that was fun and what a reward you were given despite it being left in the box. We left ours out in the cool to stop the flowers coming too early - forgot about it and the stem froze yesterday in the bitter cold - then it flopped once defrosted.

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  30. I enjoyed reading this story! The rescued amaryllis are lovely.

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  31. So glad you rescued that little cutting from the trash, Tatyana! Its blooms are so pretty--a welcome sight this time of year.

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  32. Thank you dear friends! I planted the bulb itself to see what'll happen with it. So far, it is not doing good. There are three tiny leaves and they grow very slow. Some of them are turning yellow. Probably, this bulb believes that its mission is already accomplished!

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  33. Таня, с удовольствием прочла рассказ.
    Согласна с Kathleen, у вас дар рассказчика, вам бы сказки писать.
    Искренне порадовалась за цветочек.

    ReplyDelete

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