For some plants, it just takes time.

At least two years ago, maybe three, I received several amaryllis plants from another gardener. He said that his spread, and he had far too many. They were very small bulbs. I planted them together in a protected spot in the front yard. Today I have my first blooms. The stems are fairly short, not more than 8", but the flowers are lovely.

The yellow bush is butterfly weed (Asclepias tuburosa). I bought it in the fall of 08, and it has just now bloomed. I thought I had lost this plant; I never saw it last year.

The Knockout Rose was a freebee that we dug up in another gardener's yard. I traded her some crocosmia for it, and a pink Knockout. The pink hasn't done as well, as the move seemed to stress it badly. But, it is perking up.