Wanting What I Already Have

The garden catalogs are tumbling into the mailbox. I leafed through a spring bulb catalog, and was immediately caught by delicious possibilities. I lingered over Amaryllis belladonna (Naked Ladies)--a bulb whose spring leaves die back and then blooms unexpectedly in August. I already have A. belladonna, and have even divided them to scatter them around other flowerbeds. I don't need to buy any more. Exactly what am i yearning for?

For those of us with chipmunks who eat oriental and Asiatic lily bulbs, Naked Ladies are a good substitute. My friend Anne, in Maryland, says Naked Ladies are a weed for her, springing up helter-skelter in her lawn.

Perhaps what i am yearning for is that A. belladonna would perform as beautifully as its photos. They are short bloomers, and in August, they have often gone by before i've even noticed them. Am i thinking that if i only had more, then i would have more blooms, more pleasure, that i would notice them more?

Life is brief. Everything we cherish perishes. Sometimes, much too soon.