The Butterfly of Winter: Amaryllises

Amaryllis
Photography by Kindra Clineff

By Tovah Martin

The weather might be brutal outdoors, but don’t worry, you have bodacious blossoms at your bidding.

Amaryllises make amends. Despite all the histrionics happening outdoors—and no matter that the forecast foreshadows further bone-chilling temperatures combined with weather-related dire straits for the foreseeable future—your view is warm, cozy, and heavenly. Framing whatever depth of white the latest blizzard has dumped outdoors, a windowsill is blossoming blithely away. Oversized blooms are yawning in sumptuous shades while another stem of flowers promises to continue this bliss for many weeks into the future. Amaryllises come to the rescue. Look to these four ways amaryllises brighten the winter season, and order our Winter 2018 Issue for more wonderful features, style ideas, and more!

Amaryllis
Photography by Kindra Clineff
1. The flower produces large blossoms. 

Although the dormant season can be a tough interlude for anyone who tends the soil, gardeners long ago discovered that the secret solution for winter is South American bulbs. When Hippeastrum (which is how amaryllises are currently botanically classified) were first introduced into Europe in the late 1600s, they received the glad hand for good reason. The blossoms of the original amaryllises were only a fraction of the size that current iterations achieve, but still, they promised to provide the antidote for winter blues. And fueled by the efforts of breeders, they have been pumping out flowers of impressively increased size ever since. Encounter an amaryllis in winter, and you instantly forget whatever is happening on the far side of the windowpanes. Amaryllises make your interior glow.