When the sun shines

No idea about you, but here in the rustic Burgervlotbrug, near the beach of Petten, where the sea has been pounding the Hondsbossche sea wall almost continuously for the past month, the sun has hardly been visible for the past month. Almost not at all, I might be better off saying.

And then suddenly she was there, and I caught myself singing the beautiful song by Andre van Duin: 'When he's up in the sky, it's as if things are getting better. Oh, how nice life is when the sun shines/The whole world is a carpet of flowers, and the neighbor is a beautiful girl'.

That makes you happy. 'If the sun hadn't been there, there would never have been a reason to celebrate'. Beautiful lyrics that make me smile. Amaryllis Bogota

The many Amaryllises in my greenhouse also suddenly look much more beautiful. The sun makes their colours sparkle, and the photos I take are suddenly much more beautiful. This week's newsletter is also only about the Amaryllis. In the past week I have actually seen almost nothing but beautiful happy flowers of this special flower bulb. Did I not go down the dam? Yes, I did, and do you know what I was going to do... Look at Amaryllises at Park Amaryllis in Limmen. Breeding greenhouse at Park Amaryllis

That might be interesting to tell, Park Amaryllis is a company that is involved in the breeding of Amaryllises that can be grown outside in the field. In my eyes a very interesting development, which Vlad and I have been following closely for years. Last summer we were also at Park Amaryllis to look at the field. It was too late for the flowers, but that was not a problem, because we wanted to see how the Amaryllises did after flowering. This is the test field where the seedlings that perform best are selected for further testing and cultivation. This is in the greenhouse where the Amaryllises are being tested further. What I find so interesting for you as a consumer is that these 'outdoor' Amaryllises—just like the greenhouse-grown Amaryllises—can easily flower in the winter months in your living rooms. There are even quite a few outdoor varieties that can flower in December. Amaryllis Table Dance

What is the difference then, you might think, perhaps a price advantage? Probably: outdoor cultivation will be somewhat cheaper than cultivation in greenhouses, but that is not what I mean. I am convinced that you can keep this type of Amaryllises with great ease after you have enjoyed them in the winter.

Once the frost has passed, remove it from the pot and plant it in the garden. Or, if the pot is large enough, let it grow outside in the pot. Because these Amaryllises grow at much lower temperatures, you will see that at the end of the summer you have a well-grown bulb that is ready to spoil you with its beautiful flowers in the winter months. Amaryllis White Nile

We secretly, without telling you, already have a number of these outdoor grown Amaryllises in our assortment: Red Tiger, Vulcano and White Nile are three examples. If you have already bought them, or are going to order them, they can go straight into the garden this spring. Cleopatra is also an outdoor grown Amaryllis, but that is now sold out. Amaryllis Ocean Drive

Another possibility is of course to grow this Amaryllis, just like the Dahlia, Begonia and Zantedeschia, as a garden plant. We also offer four types of these. You can order them now and they will be delivered in March, at the same time as the Dahlias. Arabian Night, Ocean Drive, River Dance and Table Dance are outdoor grown Amaryllises that you can plant outside at the same time as the Dahlia, at the end of April-beginning of May, and they will then flower and grow in your garden or outside in a pot. Here too, the latter is interesting, that growing. You will see that these healthy, problem-free bulbs have grown considerably in the autumn. You can then dig up and store the bulbs, and force them to flower indoors. You can also keep them cool and frost-free, just like your Dahlia or other summer flowering bulbs, to plant them in the garden again in the spring. Amaryllis Vulcano

Sometimes, if it doesn't freeze too hard, such Amaryllises can survive the winter in the garden. But I wouldn't take that risk, if the skates do get out of the grease I'm afraid the Amaryllises won't come back.

But, the sun is shining, the sky is blue… Teletubbies come quickly. I'm going to play in the greenhouse with the Amaryllises again. Paeonia Festiva Maxima

Oh yes, I had to remember to say this from Vlad: The action of the Peonies is still going on, if you buy 1 you get two. Quality is still fine, nice thick buds neatly packed in the potting soil.

Now I'm going to whisper and tell you a secret, make sure Vlad doesn't hear. If you order Peony Sarah Bernhardt, Blaze, Duchesse de Nemours, Festiva Maxima, Miss America or Top Hat now, 3 pieces for a sharp price, Vlad has to throw in three for free... you'll have Peonies for a steal. Quickly back to my hobby, judging Amaryllises with Vlad 😊

Kind regards and see you next week!

Carlos van der Veek