Poinsettias, Paperwhites, and More

I was at Jerome's the other day (the furniture dealership) helping my mother pick out a couch for her new SD apt, and what was right across the parking lot? Anderson's gardening center. I wandered in looking to buy some worms (to semi compost) and, of course, I about near died and went to heaven looking at the selection of holiday plants. It had lovely trees all sorted by type and standing already. An employee was watering and tending each tree (not quite the cheap prices of Home Depot or Target, but the quality far surpasses) the way it should be. Also, the store had some pretty decent sized living trees-- how about that? I flirted with the idea of buying a 2 foot living tree, but ended up leaving it behind. Probably won't have a tree this year because of some traveling I have to do. They had pretty wreaths and even garland-- the pretty kind. So, if you are pretty wealthy and can afford such pretties, check it out.

I selected a lovely pink poinsettia and paired it with a festive-yet-appropriate-for-year-round-use gold pot. The whole get up was around 15 dollars after tax. (I'll have to do a more extensive poinsettia post in the future). In addition, I purchased a tiny little ivy plant Ikea. Now, under

normal circumstances, I would not buy living plants at Ikea-- they always appear neglected and completely dried out; and that is not a great way to start your relationship with your plant. I feel as though I would be constantly trying to bring it back to life. Plus, can those plants seriously thrive under the warehouse florescent lights? However, the ivy seemed happy enough, and, well, ivy is pretty hard to kill. Likewise, I insisted that my mother get a tiny flowering Christmas cactus. So easy to keep alive!

On the other hand I was pleased to find that you can buy a flowering paperwhite bulb for only $2.50. That seems like a steal, since buying the bulb and growing it yourself is about the same price. Bulb is 99 cents, plus dirt and pot. Paperwhites are a lovely housewarming gift or party host gift during this time of year (at least for me).

Here is the progress of my paperwhite bulbs. Please ignore the cluttered background. They have made it 4 weeks. I predict that in 2 weeks I will have flowers (perfect timing for Christmas). In hindsight, I could have planted these bulbs even earlier to enjoy flowers through the whole month of December. Now I know.

You may wonder about my amaryllis. It is seemingly stunted! Very little action has taken place. You can see it in the picture with the poinsettia.