'Naked Lady' Amaryllis belladonna

This last week the weather has turned rather wintery and I have been very busy, so I have not been able to take any additional photographs.

The ikebana I have created is using an Amaryllis belladonna lily that is from our garden. So far only two flower stems have appeared this year. 

The story in my family about this flower is as follows: when my mother was in hospital waiting for me to be born, my grandmother was taking care of my two older brothers. Apparently my older brother went out to play and came home with a bunch of these lilies that he had found growing by the roadside. Grandma was worried that he had stolen them from somebodies' garden; so she made him take her to where he had found them. Sure enough, they were growing wild by the roadside near an old abandoned farm. Since then we have always had them in the garden and they often flower on my birthday.

Belladonas flower before the leaves appear, which is why they are known as 'Naked Lady Lilies', so I have added some bull rush leaves in this simple free-style. 

Greetings from Christopher 

5th March 2012