Unwise Christmas purchasing decisions

I stand up. I raise my hand. I admit I was seduced by the pretty pictures in the Christmas catalogue and thought, oooh, pretty flowers for Christmas. What a great idea for my sister/mum/aunt/etc. Yes! And I ordered Christmas plants for delivery. To me, rather than their recipients, thank goodness.




Two battered parcels turned up (out of three) and were left in the rain by the wheelie bin, one upside down, despite the prominent "this way up" sign. The third turned up the following day, having clearly been found under a pile of something. That's it bottom right, with its distinctive "sat on" look. The petals on the Begonias are browning, done in by the cold or the rain. The Hibiscus flowers are fretting and fading before they're open. Here's hoping one of them will be fit to gift by Christmas.

This year's Amaryllis (top right) was as usual found at a checkout (this time I went upmarket - Sainsburys!) but it's not happy. You can see the brown rot on the bulb. Still that bud should make a flower at some point.

I think I'll not bother with any more flowers this Christmas. Fairy lights all the way.