Thank you Luiz for featuring my Ammaryllis belladonna on
this week's TODAY'S FLOWERS.
They come in two tones of pink and this lovely creamy white,
that is what the book says but I have a shorter paler variety
with pointier petals as well, blooming in my mountain garden.
Belladonnas are interesting weather prophets as well, they
pop up out of the dry ground exactly two weeks before the first
autumn rain.
When you pick or handle them, remember to wash your hands
afterwards as these beauties are poisonous. Their toxicity is
the reason they spread so readily on paddocks and roadsides as
grazing animals have a sixth sense and leave the alone.
These flowers are native to the West Cape of Africa where our
early settlers stopped to replenish water and fresh food for
themselves and fodder for their animals for the long and
arduous voyage by sailing ship to the new colonies in Australia.
They stretch their flower heads to the sun, naked and leafless,
with a multitude of buds waiting to open to this perfect showing
with a perfume that is heady and delightful. I count at least
eighteen flowers and buds on this single stem.
Here is the paler pink version
and the glory of a stand of deep pink ones
and to finish off, just a little more eye candy.
All these were photographed this afternoon in my garden.
Thank you Luiz for your continued efforts in keeping this meme alive.
All photos enlarge and the Logo leads to fields and fields of flowers.
