Martha Moments: wrapped amaryllis bulbs for Christmas

I was in Amsterdam last week for a flying visit and spotted these lovely Christmas-wrapped amaryllis bulbs. Now, the Dutch know a thing or two about bulbs, as we all know, but I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen such a creatively presented bulb, what with all that ribbon wrapping.

I love amaryllis, but the naff china pots in boxes are looking a bit tired to give as as a present. This however, looks a great, achievable-at-home way of being a bit more creative. We think Martha would like it…(BTW real Christmas decoration nerds might like to take a quick look at Martha’s Holiday decorating website to see her tips, you’ve got to hand it to her, she’s good).

The ones in the photos are large bulbs, which had been wrapped tightly with at least five different well coordinated colours and widths of ribbon, with a final coloured string-width ribbon seeming to hold it all in place. The delicate top of the bulb and the roots had been left exposed and I suspect you have to be careful not to damage the bulb by tying the ribbon TOO tight, but  still it looks pretty easy, don’t you think?

The bulbs can by found at your local garden centre or online, I found some at Fentongollan and even on Amazon (but don’t buy the ones in pots, look for the loose ones). The secret is to have lovely coloured ribbon wrapped in lots of layers, there’s no bulb showing at all on the round bit. Perfect teacher present?