warm days early nights
Amaryllis belladonna
bright in fading light
It is the end of summer and the most noticeable flowers, by far, are the naked ladies, Amaryllis belladonna. When I first got interested in plants, my plants of choice were cactus. At that time, in San Jose – at least – people held species in much higher regard than hybrids or, more formally, Cultivars. The large hybrids flowers – in Rhododendrons for example – were often distainly referred to as blopo flowers. The small, often inconsequential flowers of the true species were considered purer.
I still pretty much feel that way, but Michele has buying cultivars of A. belladonna for a while now and I really like them. Maybe because the species flower is pretty much a blopo to start with, I find the variety of the cultivars beguiling. Here are a couple from our backyard, starting with the outrageously pink true species – I think – and going on to a couple of cultivars.
When I saw the headline, Gaddafi’s Creepy Love Den in The Dailyt Beast, my first thought was a remembrance of a Peter Arno cartoon in which a stuffy matron, reading the newspaper that says Mayor caught in love nest and looking up at her equally dignified husband, says “What is a ‘Love Nest’, dear?” Of course, I remember it because I didn’t know, at about ten, what a Love Nest was either; I’m sure that my mother’s explanation was in good taste. “Love Nest” is just not a term you hear these days, but – then – neither is “Love Den”. I hope they are both coming back.
