December 7, 2016 – Our Christmas Tradition – White Florist Cyclamen 

          Our first Christmas together my husband surprised me with a big beautiful “hot house” potted plant.  I had never seen anything so lovely.  It had a mound of marbled heart shaped leaves and above were stems adorned with white recurved blooms that looked like a flock of white doves startled into flight. The tag indicated Florist Cyclamen.

          And, as a bonus, perched on a stick stuck in the flowering plant was a decorative feathered bird with a long tail.  I kept that Cyclamen alive until our first corporate move to Kansas City.  I lovingly wrapped that feather bird in tissue paper and put it among the Christmas ornaments.  It has adorned every Christmas tree we have ever had.

          Since I was so thrilled with the white cyclamen that first Christmas, it became my husband’s tradition to find one every December.  About five years into our marriage we lived in Seaford, Delaware at the time and he went on a wild goose chase looking for a white cyclamen.  He searched and searched and at the last florist shop they told him he could order one, but it wouldn’t get there for Christmas.  He knew I would be disappointed for Christmas, but he ordered one for our wedding anniversary which is in the middle of February.

He came up empty handed that Christmas and profusely apologized to me.  I was disappointed, but I understood as we were removed from “real shopping”. We lived in rural America where the “watermen” lived.  They were the oyster catchers in winter months and crab men in summer months and the only other thing in the area of interest was a pickle factory.

But, come February on our wedding anniversary, my husband came into the house with the finest specimen of a white cyclamen we have ever had these 38+ years.  It was beyond words.  It was stunning.  It also was a shock to my husband’s wallet as the price tag made him gasp.  The florist indicated it was “imported from Washington, D.C.”   He opened his wallet and paid the shocking price.

Since the Delaware cyclamen it has become a “tag-team sport” of locating a white cyclamen for Christmas. One of us finally finds one.  The first one to find one buys it and brings it home. It always kicks off our Christmas season.

Today I happened to be at the local Ingles and as I was cruising by the floral display I noticed a big white cyclamen whose leaves still had raindrops on them.  In the rain, I had parked beside the floral delivery truck, so I knew it was “fresh stock” just delivered. I picked it up and peered through the heart shaped leaves and OHHH lots of buds coming on and the soil was properly moist.  Without hesitation I plopped it on top of the groceries.

When I came into the house from shopping, I brought the white cyclamen in first.  I immediately retrieved the blue delft bowl I traditionally put the Christmas cyclamen in and placed it on the kitchen table announcing,

“The Christmas Season has begun!”

My husband answered, “That’s a nice one. I’ve been looking.”

“See, it’s got lots of buds coming on.” I showed him.

He started to reminisce saying, “Remember the first one?”

How could I ever forget?