Every September, my friend Huw starts off loads of hyacinth bulbs in old coffee jars (apparently Co-op Fairtrade Instant have exactly the right neck size). And then he gives most of them away so that people can enjoy them at the dullest, darkest time of the year – often they’re out by Christmas. He keeps plenty for himself too, and when they’ve flowered indoors he puts them out in the garden to flower the following year. This year they’ve put on a great show.
I ate my lunch next to the amaryllis – its flower was almost as big as my head. It got attacked by narcissus fly last year but has bounced back. It was having a brief holiday outdoors in the unseasonably warm weather and will spend the summer outside.