A beautiful splash of colour!

Many tropical and subtropical bulbs thrive in Pakistan and the Amaryllis, from the family Amaryllidaceae (common name: belladonna lily), is one of them, though it is not given much importance by most gardeners. ‘Amaryllis’ is a name of Greek origin, while ‘belladonna’ means beautiful lady – an appropriate name for this lovely flower. These days it is making a bright splash of colour in many gardens and outside residences (especially in Islamabad).

Whether planted in the ground or in pots, Amaryllis bloom profusely at this time - from mid March onwards - and are known by their common name, ‘Easter lily’ since Easter falls when they are in full bloom. There are many varieties of Amaryllis and all are beautiful but some of the really gorgeous ones have names to match, like 'Aphrodite', 'Red Peacock' and 'Pink Diamond.'

Amaryllis is also a girl’s name, which is not as unusual as it might at first sound. It was used in Greek poetry as the title of pure pastoral beauties and is the heroine of Virgil's epic poem, ‘Eclogues,’ after whom the flower was named.

Two or more large trumpet-shaped flowers appear in spring on leafless, 1-2 foot-tall stalks. Single and double flowers are seen in abundance in bold colours of red, while other cultivars produce blooms in subdued shades of pink, rose and salmon as well as pure white. Spectacularly striped and multi-coloured ones used to be rare in Pakistan and could only be found in gardens which boasted imported flowers, but now they can be seen in many places.

The flower industry flourishes in many parts of the world, with Pakistan making huge strides in the past few years to cash in on the conducive climate and soil conditions in most parts of the country - something which was ignored for many years. Of the many countries where this industry thrives, The Netherlands is among the top producers, especially of tubular plants and Pakistan could join the ranks if serious attention is paid to propagating and growing all the species which flourish here, including the Amaryllis.