Sunday, March 15, 2009

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day


As reported in my last post, nothing is blooming outside, so we'll have to be a bit creative. My amaryllis, which I bought after Christmas, is blooming! One bud has three flowers and the other two. The flowers are such a vibrant red, they make me smile. And see the little Easter rabbit decorations that look like chocolate (but are resin, so please don't try nibbling the ears!)? Yes, dear blogging friends, that proves I finally took down my indoor Christmas decorations in mid March! Ahem. It's just that I love them so! And, well, OK, I've been lazy about it.

Here are the blooms up close, just so you feel you get true GBBD impact.

And there real blooms end, but let's use the trick of light and shadow to create more blooms.


Presto! Here's a cute light I got at Ikea. The cord is green and I just happened to have paper in a very close color, so I made some leaves.


And here's a shadow bloom of my amaryllis that I noticed the other day... I just moved a cute new (well, new to me anyway) orange flower pot to look like its pot!

Happy bloom day, everyone, and thanks to May Dreams Gardens for hosting it.

25 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness, Monica, you have made that little light into perfection! Ikea should pay you to add leaves to their light, it really brings it up a notch! Brilliant, my friend, just plain brilliant! :-)
    Frances

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  2. LOL, Monica, when we live in the frozen North, we have to get creative in finding blooms--you certainly have:) Your amaryllis is beautiful, though; mine never bloomed!

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  3. Monica, What a fun post! The amaryllis shadow is delightful and I have to have the Ikea flower light...but only if you add the leaves. Have a good day. gail

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  4. What an awesome amaryllis! It is perfect. The light is too sweet!

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  5. Brilliant red! Who could not smile when seeing those blooms? Such a creative addition to the flower light. You should get the big bucks for the leaves. :} Maybe by next month we will have some blooms in our gardens!

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  6. That is really beautiful and all I could think was seeing a flower in one of the cat's mouths...GGG Michelle

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  7. Hi Monica, hope you enjoy the nice weather and the park! Your amaryllis is gorgeous!

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  8. Oh, but you haven't taken down all your Christmas decorations! That Amaryllis is the most beautiful Christmas Red. The improvements you made to your flower light are just plain cute. I loved the pictures you made playing with shadow and light--very creative

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  9. What a glorious red. I am so impressed that your amaryllis has not toppled over. What's the secret Monica ? A great finishing touch to that light :)

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  10. You & my daughter have a thing for Christmas decorations. She still has a winter snowglobe & a mini Christmas tree in her room which she refuses to let me pack away.
    Your Amaryllis is a beauty, such a rich ruby.

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  11. That first picture is wonderful! The red and the white.. just gorgeous. You've a good eye for composition.. and a wonderful sense of humor with that light. What a great idea!

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  12. Your amaryllis shadow-in-a-pot is brilliant.

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  13. I love the amaryllis, it is such a fun plant to grow. Yours is beautiful.

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  14. Beautiful Monica. Mine are still in the basement, not even started this winter. I need to check on them.
    Marnie

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  15. Frances,
    Thanks! Your comment brightened my day!

    Rose,
    Frost is the mother of invention, you might say. or you might not. But I would--and did! ;-)

    Gail,
    I'm not actually artistic, so I bet you could cut your own leaves! :)

    Tina,
    I love my amaryllis!

    Beckie,
    I'm *really* hoping to have crocus and snow drops for next month's GBBD.

    Rambling,
    For some reason (perhaps they are not members of the Cats Union), my cats leave my houseplants alone--except for the wheat grass I grow them, but they know that's for them.

    Helen,
    Thanks!

    Linda,
    We went to 11 parks--that's 30 down and about 130 to go!!

    MGRR,
    As it goes, I overlooked six little paper/foil angels in my office and the Santa on my side door--but I'm going to leave it up a while as it's a plastic hseet and also provides wind proofing on my north side!!

    Anna,
    I've never staked my amaryllis. Maybe because it only had 2 and 3 flowers per bud, not 4, it wasn't top heavy.

    MMD,
    Aside from the Xmas decorations I genuinely overlooked (see comment to MGRR above), I keep a few things out year-round on purpose: some paper bells with mercury beads hanging in my bedroom (see here) and a nutcracker (who looks like a hiker) and a twirly (wooden pyramid) with deer (see here) on my mantel.

    Debbi,
    Thanks! Most everyone is commenting on the lamp, but I prefer the shadow flowers myself! :)

    Nancy,
    Thanks--I've done some layout and design (as a writer, not a designer) in my day job.

    Queerbychoice,
    I thought so too, thanks! (In the way little things sometimes tickle me.)

    Phillip,
    I'm going to try to keep it for next year, by planting it out over summer. We'll see if it reblooms!

    Marnie,
    I bet they still bloom!

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  16. You are way too clever! This was a fun post, and Monica - I'm so happy your Amaryllis is blooming! One of my shortest little fellows has a bud. The others' leaves are getting very full... ;-)

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  17. Hehehe, the shadow flowers are very cool, Monica! Mom loves Amaryllis but unfortunately we do too... You were curious what she's studying: Latin American Studies. Language & Literature, History and Politics. We are already preparing our poor sensitive cat ears for all this 'I don't find a job' whining... Paws crossed that it turns out okay!
    Purrs, your feline friends Siena & Chilli

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  18. Fun post, clever Monica! You must be as giddy as I am on this 65-degree day. Happy St. Patricks Day!

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  19. A pop of bright red to brighten your day!
    I think of you each time I tour the DBG! I will be there again soon to see the night blooms and the night lights! I'll surely attempt some photos! :)NG

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  20. Your Amaryllis blooms are gorgeous Monica. Just a perfect show for Bloom Day! I'm going to try my hand at forcing some of these beauties next winter. :)

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  21. That amaryllis is wonderful and I love your light and shadow one too! Such inspiration and imagination you have. The little rabbits are so cute.

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  22. For Fiona:
    Dearest Fiona,
    your brofur James showed me a picture of you and I was overwhelmed by your silky- and slenderness! Would you consider joining my little crew of furriends? Purrs, Chilli

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  23. Fiona, it's so cool that you join my crew! Do you have a silky and slender pic of you handy? I would like to introduce you - oh, and you can grab the "offishul" gang member badge at my bloggie if you'd like too. Are you a bit crazy, or naughty? I'm asking that because I'm a bit crazy and plan to do crazy stuff with the crew. It's not all about looking gorgeous you know. ; )
    Crazy Cat Chilli

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