I have been watching in amazement as my Clivia ‘Good Hope’ flowers for the first time ever.
Its butter-yellow finger-like buds finally opened into big happy blooms this week.
I did not realize that it would get this large.
Even its roots, which slither along the surface, are big.
Another giant houseplant. Hooray!
Flower
I use colorful swizzle sticks to mark where I plant bulbs.
I have found that the twisted kind holds up longer and stays up better.
I thought this color combo was rather nice.
The swizzle sticks match the stamen.
Swizzle stick serendipity!
Flower
I have been too sickly to go out into the garden this week,
instead I traveled down the Amazon with Margaret Mee and her friend Rita.
I would have been terrified running the rapids in a dugout canoe,
if I had not been safely tucked in my bed while doing it.
Not only is she adventurous, she is also an artist.
Her botanical watercolors are famous for their beauty as well as accuracy.
Margaret Mee gets placed on my hero list with Marianne North and Beatrix Potter.
I was almost glad to be sick, so that I could float and forage through the jungles.
Almost..
FLOW
A single stem florescence must maintain balance.
It does this by dancing very slowly around the stem.
Symmetry must be maintained as the flowers bloom.
The round dance is called circumnutation.
I have been watching my Benfica Amaryllis dance this week.
There is an odd number of blooms.
The last one to open is days behind the others and smaller.
I have observed this last bud slowly spinning above its sisters.
It has finally settled down close to the oldest bloom which is beginning to wither.
Taking up the space that is being vacated.
Timing and balance.
We can learn from our green relatives if we pay close attention.
FLOWER
On the coldest, rainiest day last week I could not stand the emptiness any longer.
Yes, I was alone again, but I am not talking about an empty house.
It was all those empty pots.
Their yawning maws were calling me every time I walked by.
I had tried to find the right pansies numerous times in the past month. I need a pretty face you see.
So on this dreary day, I ventured out to yet another location to scrounge for plants.
I stood in the pouring rain and carefully selected each six-pack of pansies (one viola).
When I finally brought my flat to the check-out, I was soaked and dripping.
The check-out person had obviously been watching my pansy picking.
“You must have really needed some pansies today.” she said as she checked me out.
“It was an emergency.” was my reply.
I feel a “Pine Needle Run” coming on next week.
I hope I won’t have to do that in the rain, too.
FLOW
floweralley 