As you wave goodbye to snowbirds heading south, do you feel a bit down about staying home? Maybe you traveled to warmer climates in your first years after retirement. But those days are over.  Health or financial concerns have brought a change of plans.  So how to make the best of those gloomy cold days ahead?  Have a blooming home this winter.

Start with those Christmas poinsettias you normally throw away after the holidays.  Hopefully, you have more than one color.   Find a warm sunny spot to group them together.  They don’t need much care, but when the leaves start to droop, you know they need water.

My next favorite are the magical, mysterious amaryllis.  They come in glorious color combinations of pink, red, and white. You can buy them in November or December, but by January, it’s too late.  They’re sold out.  I found three at a big box store before Thanksgiving, and some are already starting to bloom.  This year, I have some big bulbs saved from last year..  I’m trying to recycle them.  The  directions say they’ll probably start blooming in six or eight weeks—which will brighten those cold February days. But just in case my experiment doesn’t work,  I’m going to buy a few more bulbs at the grocery store to save until January.

Orchid plants are available most everywhere.  Some are spindly or overpriced.  I’ve had great luck with the big healthy ones at our  local discount store.  They require very little care—3 ice cubes a week is what’s recommended. .  I changed that to ¼ cup water, plus a little houseplant fertilizer every month or so.  Amazingly, the plant was still blooming in September. But when I moved it to another window, it didn’t survive the change in light. This year, I’ll let it stay in the same place and see if it lives longer.

Another beauty is the Anthurium plant.  Mostly, they come in red, but I know someone who found a white one.  I received mine as a birthday gift in July, but it had been over watered, and some of the leaves turned yellow.  I cut down the watering, and it’s still blooming now, in December.

If you have the time and space, you might look into other blooming houseplants like violets, begonias or Christmas cactus.

It’s a real upper to wake up on a cold winter morning and see fresh flowers blooming all over your house.  And best of all, no weeding is required!