Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

French Christmas: Yellow, Pink and Red….

amaryllis

 

 

 

amaryllis

 

 

 

amaryllis

 

 

 

amaryllis

Amaryllis at Christmas,

is one of the more traditional flowers in France  rather than the poinsettia.

White and, or red.

Each year I buy a few bulbs of each:  A white Amaryllis, a few white hyacinthe, and some paper whites. I put them in a container, add moss and mercury glass mushrooms to it.

This year as the flowers started to bloom I saw springtime… instead of all white, I have yellow, pink and red! Not my idea of Christmas.

Not a nice trick.

The other day I saw a black flocked Christmas tree and next to it a hot pink one. I preferred both of them to the yellow one. But the best was an older woman in the shop, who saw the black flocked Christmas tree and exclaimed, "A Christmas tree for the cemetery?"

What flowers speak Christmas to you? 

Comments

23 responses to “French Christmas: Yellow, Pink and Red….”

  1. g

    holly berries/holly evergreens and fir trees-all the traditional stuff- oh and the christmas catus which blooms for us anywhere from october to december-

    Reply
  2. Sue

    Over here in Japan, the cyclamen come out in the stores along with the poinsettia. I had no recollection of having ever seen one before moving here, but when I mentioned the name to my mom she knew exactly what I meant – even though I pronounced it the Japanese way. That woman knew her flowers!! So, not only do they make me think of Christmas, but my much-missed mother. I like to plant red and white cyclamen along with a mini fir tree or two in my balcony containers, but they also come in various shades of pink. They’re already blooming when I buy them, so no chance of a mix-up! :o)

    Reply
  3. marlis

    amaryllis.. they remind me of my beloved grandmother. It’s a way of bringing a bit of her to our celebrations. xo marlis

    Reply
  4. Momof5

    Amaryllis, poinsettias, paper whites and rosemary… I have them all.

    Reply
  5. Marilyn

    I always have to have paperwhites blooming at this time of year. The Christmas cactus too, it is just about to bloom.

    Reply
  6. Jenna

    Beautiful photos, the pleats remind me of ncient Egyptian clothes.

    Reply
  7. Diogenes

    Corey, I had to laugh that you got Springtime, as I also like all white flowers. My favorite for Christmas is Amaryllis.
    A while back, a friend of mine planted their amaryllis bulbs in the ground after they finished blooming. Years later, they come up bigger than ever.

    Reply
  8. betty parker

    Paperwhites, amaryllis (pink or white). I just bought an “almost ready to bloom” red amaryllis for my mother. She really enjoys watching them come into glorious blooms.

    Reply
  9. Karen C

    Hydrangeas and agapanthus are always in bloom in Melbourne at Christmas time and they come in the most pure pristine white through all the blues and purples and pink for the hydrangeas. The church season of advent is blue which matches perfectly.
    However, growing your preferred hydrangea color can be frustrating as the ph of the soil determines the color. How to change the ph is a constant conversation amongst melburnian gardeners.

    Reply
  10. Gail M

    Evergreen boughs. I love the comment on the black flocked tree!

    Reply
  11. Kathie B

    Here in the bleak northeastern US all we have outdoors around the Winter Solstice are evergreens and bare deciduous trees. It’s a long, gloomy slog till those first golden crocuses open in late March.
    Back in the San Francisco Bay Area, poinsettias that are planted outdoors don’t put out their red leaves (those little yellow things in the center are the actual flowers) until late January.

    Reply
  12. jend’isère

    My annual amaryllis tricked me this year as well. A pair of blackish red flowers bloomed rather red. The discount store bulbs grew a rather gothic hybrid which my kids thought was creepy.
    PS Just noted that Amaryllis contains the word “mary”. Wonder if it means A Mary’s Lilly?

    Reply
  13. “Auntie”

    “…who saw the black flocked Christmas tree and exclaimed, “A Christmas tree for the cemetery?”
    Ohhhhhh that is great!!!! -giggggles- But yes, I will now try to look ashamed. -chuckle-
    🙂

    Reply
  14. double d

    I grow the same, except my hyacinth are blue and bloom after Christmas.
    Can’t wait to see u r tree!

    Reply
  15. Merisi in Vienna

    Love the pictures, White Amaryllis means Christmas in my house. The tree is colorful, though.

    Reply
  16. Cindy

    Oh, Friday. Antique store. Green metal typing table with a lamp attached. Where or where would it fit in my house. Ah, I too, walked away, however, it sits there in the back of my mind!

    Reply
  17. Aimee

    Scottish heather. I have bundles of tied up in ribbon all over the house. And since I live in Virginia, boxwood wreaths and magnolia garland have won me over.

    Reply
  18. Neadsci@yahoo.come

    Christmas Cactus, pink, red, white….. Love your pictures, writings. I don’t have the brocante bug, but I do have Coreyitis bug… Each morning I have read what inspiring Corey has to say. Thank you for making each day a little brighter and fun!

    Reply
  19. Jeanne

    (¯`•´¯) Wishing you
    ¸.•´. .¸.•*¨) ¸.•*¨) .a love – filled day…
    (¸.•´ (¸.•´ .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`• ¸¸.•¨¯`•`ღ Enjoy!
    …
    Flowers of any kind speak to me………..We have Christmas poinsettia and Christmas cactus and many others but all are wonderful. Roses any time for me as well.
    Love you
    Jeanne

    Reply
  20. Chris Wittmann

    Paperwhites and amaryllis…poinsettas too though I don’t keep them in the house as they are poisonous to cats. And as I write this, our oldest kitty is dying, which will leave us only 2 house cats after so many years of caring for dozens of them. I will definitely need some Christmas flowers to help cheer us up this year.

    Reply
  21. Lia

    flowers
    flowers,
    flowers
    pinched
    scented
    picked
    plundered
    gathered surfaces of friends on line… you are the flowers of life
    deliciousness
    love to all
    this Christmas
    x

    Reply
  22. 24/7 in France

    Pointsettas, of course, and holly, but I have a small garden still blooming with cyclamens and hibiscus. The snow on the mountains behind Nice remind me it’s winter!

    Reply
  23. Kathie B

    The similarity is purely coincidental:
    http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=genus+amaryllis
    amaryllis (n.)
    autumn-flowering bulbs, 1794, adopted by Linnaeus from Latin, from Greek Amaryllis, typical name of a country girl or shepherdess (in Theocritus, Virgil, Ovid, etc.).

    Reply

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