"Pay attention to the world." -- Susan Sontag
 

Category: photography

Amaryllis, Early Autumn (2 of 3)

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From “Amaryllidaceae” in Name that Flower: The Identification of Flowering Plants by Ian Clarke and Helen Lee:

“The name of this medium-sized, horticulturally important family is derived from the South African genus Amaryllis (Belladonna Lily). The family is widely distributed, especially diverse in the Mediterranean, South Africa and South America (particularly the Andes). Three genera are native in Australia: Crinum (Murray Lily), Calostemma (Garland Lily) and Proiphys (Brisbane Lily)….

“Many members of the family are sold as cut flowers, and numerous genera are common in cultivation. These include Agapanthus, Clivia, Galanthus (Snowdrop), Hippeastrum, Ipheion, Nerine, Amaryllis, Leucojum (Snowflake), and Narcissus (Daffodil and Jonquil), and the last three are recorded as naturalised in Australia. The genus Allium includes cultivated onions, leeks and garlic as well as A. vineale (Wild Garlic) and A. triquetrum (Three-cornered Garlic), which are significant weeds. White-flowered Nothoscordum borbonicum (Onion Weed) is almost cosmopolitan, and commonly troublesome in gardens.

“Most members of the family grow from a perennial bulb, which produces a cluster of basal leaves each season. Others, such as the robust herbaceous perennial Agapanthus grow from a rhizome. Leaves are often linear, and often distichous. In some species, such as Amaryllis belladonna (Belladonna Lily) the flowering stem appears before the leaves.”

Howdy!

This is the second of three posts featuring Amaryllis plants and their flowers from Oakland Cemetery’s Gardens. The first post is Amaryllis, Early Autumn (1 of 3).

These Amaryllis are especially svelte: attractive, thin, graceful, slender, delicate, and/or refined… and also stripey!

[Closes thesaurus.]

Thanks for taking a look!

Amaryllis, Early Autumn (1 of 3)

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From “Pride: Amaryllis” in The Language of Flowers with Illustrative Poetry (1835), edited by Frederic Shoberl:

“Gardeners account the amaryllis, of which there are numerous varieties, a proud plant, because even after the greatest care it refuses to blossom…. The number of flowers is commonly from eight to twelve, and the circumference of each about seven inches. The corolla in its prime has the colour of a fine gold tissue wrought on a rose-coloured ground, and when it begins to fade it is pink….

“In full sunshine it seems to be studded with diamonds; but, by candle-light, the specks or spangles appear more like fine gold-dust: when the petals are somewhat withered, they assume a deep crimson colour. The name of these beautiful plants is derived from a Greek word signifying to shine, sparkle, flash.”

From “Up, Amaryllis!” by Carl Michael Bellman in The Floral Kingdom, Its History, Sentiment and Poetry (1876) edited by Cordelia Harris Turner:

Waken, thou fair one! up, Amaryllis!
         Morning so still is;
         Cool is the gale;
         The rainbow of heaven,
         With its hues seven,
         Brightness hath given
         To wood and dale:
Sweet Amaryllis, let me convey thee;
In Neptune’s arms naught shall affray thee;
Sleep’s god no longer power has to stay thee,
Over thy eyes and speech to prevail.

Hello!

This is the first of three posts featuring a couple of Amaryllis variants, whose appearance during my hunts through the haunted gardens is typically a sign of late summer or early fall — though I found most of these a bit earlier this year, perhaps owing to a warm and very wet summer season. As you can see from some of the photos below, they’re all noteworthy for producing flowers at the top of tall, thick stems, with the flowers bending in a graceful curve — often turning toward the source of light, even when they’re growing in the shade.

“Swamp Lily” is a common name for these plants as they’re often found in the wild at the edges of wetlands, and they may also be called Belladona Lily, Jersey Lily, Barbados Lily, or even Easter Lily — which is fun because none of them are actually lilies. And today I learned that a similar looking plant often called Amaryllis — popular to buy or give as gifts as we approach the winter holidays because their forced bulbs will bloom indoors — is actually Hippeastrum, though both Amaryllis and Hippeastrum are in the same plant family, Amaryllidaceae. This may or may not seem confusing.

Thanks for taking a look!

Dipladenia Rio White (2 of 2)

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From “Conservatory Climbers: The Dipladenia” in The Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste (Vol. 29, 1874), edited by Henry T. Williams:

“Dipladenia is one of the modern favorites in the list of conservatory climbers. The Gardener’s Record [pdf] thinks too much prominence cannot be given to it; for, ‘like many climbing plants, it blooms best when grown prominently forward near to the glass, and perhaps to perfection near to the roof of an intermediate house, with general temperature not below about 55 degrees.’

“Dipladenias are natives of Central America, and belong to the order of Dogbanes, a name given by Dr. Lindley to a certain class of plants, which I believe Linnaeus described as having contorted or twisted-like flowers, with corollas resembling a catherine-wheel firework in motion. To this family belong the Periwinkle, the Oleander, etc….

“With twining habit, and large graceful flowers nearly five inches in diameter, in form like a Convolvulus, and with color varying from pale pink or French white, to clear delicate rosy pink, I know not any more lovely climbing plant for summer, and what is commonly called early autumn. It may be grown from layers, from cuttings, and from seed.”

Hello!

This is the second of two posts with photographs of Dipladenia Rio White from my garden. The first post is Dipladenia Rio White (1 of 2). Moreso than in the previous post, you can see “pale pink” or “rosy pink” (described above) that appears in the blooms during their unfolding, color swatches that tend to be more apparent in the second or third blooming cycle — though this is one of my completely unscientific observations.

Did you know “moreso” isn’t a word? Allegedly, I say! When I typed the previous sentence, the computer ensquiggled “moreso” at me as a misspelling, and I of course just assumed the computer was wrong. It turns out that “moreso” should be written as “more so” or “more-so” — but I don’t like either of those so I’m sticking with “moreso.” I’ve already used it in five previous posts, which makes it a word as far as I’m concerned. And, like everything else in our modern era, it’s controversial — see More So Vs. Moreso: Which is the Correct Spelling? — so I think I can follow my own path.

Thanks for taking a look!