The flower fades . . .

My Mothers' Day tulips now. DGD asked, quite politely, 'Grandma, why have you got a vase of dead flowers on the table?' The answer could have been of course that I hadn't got around to clearing them up yet. But the real answer is that Ive been finding the drying, twisting petals so fascinating! 'I see,' grandaughter said, a bit hesitantly! The last 2 amaryllis when they were beginning to open. They are coming to an end now, more a soggy mess than interesting curls, so soon now the flower stalks will be cut off and when the leaves have died down they will be put away till next year.
This is the first one I bought, several years ago, buy one get one free in the Co op in Marple, and I gave the other one away as a Christmas present. I wonder if that one is still flowering?
How to keep amaryllis flowering year after year:
When the flowers are finished, cut off the flower stalk. Keep watering the leaves till they are dying down too. Put the bulbs away somewhere dry. After Christmas somewhen take the bulbs out, soak them in water for half an hour, pot them up and put them on a windowsill. Keep a little watering going. Eventually you will have the excitement of spotting the first shoot - is it a flower shoot or just a leaf? - then keep them well watered and they will flower for you.