vilakins | Day 8 - Flower in my garden

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art making month 2007

Day 8 - Flower in my garden

Today's entry for the naarmamo National Art Making Month challenge is a flower in my garden. I have no idea what it is, but I love these; they bloom for months (including now), look exotic, and I can see them from the kitchen window. This is for reapermum whose birthday it is and who often posts about her garden. She might even know what this plant is; I'm hopeless about botany but I know what I like. ;-) Happy Birthday, Reapermum!

I worked from a photo because I'm sketching outside in the middle of winter. It was also a good distraction from worry for a while.

Flower in my garden

Some sort of lily perhaps?

[Edit] This might make it easier. Here's a photo I took in spring (October) last year.

[Another Edit] It's a clivia from South Africa (thank you, nautile26. They grow well in shade and thrive on neglect which they get plenty of from me. They're the perfect plant: they look good all year round, never need trimming to deadheading, and are spectacular when they're in flower.

My NaArMaMo 2007 Gallery is here.

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It looks vaguely familiar, but I'm equally bad at identifying plants, I just go "ooh, that's pretty!". Which it is.

I'm amazed that it's in flower when it's so cold, but so is a potted tree on the deck with similarly coloured flowers, plus the camellia bushes. At least I think they're camellia bushes. :-P

Camelias, if that's what they are are mountain plants so it's not so unusual for them to blooming the cold but I should think it's not as cold as you think it is or there is a warm pocket just out side your kitchen. I forgot to mention I think the picture is beautiful.

It's not just outside the kitchen, but it is against a wall and by a tree. Here's a photo I took in spring last year. (http://pics.livejournal.com/vilakins/pic/000x43z9/g42)

They look like day lilies to me, they bloom for ever but each flower head only lasts about a day when there are insects around to pollinate them. I have orange ones in my garden but they only bloom in summer.

The neighbour said what they were a few months ago, but in one ear and out the other. It wasn't that though, and blooms last ages.

Thank you for the kind thoughts.

I agree with

linda_joyce, Hemerocallis (http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/plants/plantprofile_daylily.shtml) otherwise known as Day lily.

They last longer than a day though; I never seem to see dead ones. I'll have to ask my neighbour; she called them something else. Maybe we have another name for them here.

[looks at the link] No, those flowers are bigger than mine. Mine seem to be made up of a lot of smaller ones which give the effect of one flower.

All the pictures I can find seem to concentrate on a single bloom not the whole plant. This page (http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/factsheets/bulbs-summer/hemerocallis.html) is the best I can find of a whole plant.

You probably won't see the dead blooms, plants with a quick turnover like these drop the dead petals so the pollinating insects can find the newly open flowers more easily.

Maybe my neighbour used the technical name for them. I'll ask her when I see her.

Half past ten at night isn't quite the time to go round to your neighbour and ask about plants.

I have no idea what they are,except beautiful, and beautifully drawn.

Thank you! They're my favourites, though I love the magnolia and the ground cover that produces loads of little pale flowers around Easter.

Beautiful picture, beautiful flower. I thought for a second it might be a form of aga pantha (sp?), but it's not, so no idea really.

Thanks! Agapanthus are on long stalks. I have those by my driveway and there are no stalks or flowers in winter, just leaves.

Very pretty. :D

Thanks. :-)

Hi Nico,

I've been enjoying all this great artwork.

This is a beautiful likeness and it is a clivia which is a type of lily that grows and flowers really well in even shady spots in the garden. I think they were originally from South Africa.

Not a plant I'm familiar with but this picture does look more like vilakins' picture than the stuff I could find on day lilies.

I've not grown either but sis-in-law had some day lilies once. (http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0603/clivia.asp)

Yep, that's it.

I have them growing in my garden. They positively thrive on neglect. The one's I have would be older than me (ie 50+). They get no attention at all and flower for a month or more in late winter/early spring.

That all fits: they're in the shade and I don't do anything to them (I am so not a gardener) but they flower beautifully for about four months.

I've added you to my flist; how could I not when you're from the edge of the world like me, you're a B7 fan, and you like our Vila! :-)

Thanks, I've added you to my flist as well. I'm still finding my way around LJ.

Actually it was through your website that I discovered this great little community. I've been reading the B7 fic for ages but have only recently set up my own LJ so that I could participate.

I adore Vila!

Yay! Welcome to LJ and B7 on it!

Vila is utterly adorable and irresistible.

Like your drawings, perhaps? :-) That one certainly is.

That's a screencap. This one's a drawing. :-)

Yeah, of course Vila is adorable and irresistable as both a screencapture and as a drawing. Couldn't suggest otherwise :D The next stage is to put one of those flowers behind Vila's ear, or have him drinking from that cup...maybe...

You know, I *cough* got hold of a copy of The Cult of Blake's 7, and Michael Keating is wearing very well...

A flower behind Vila's ear! Is that a challenge? I wasn't going to do any more fan art except for the Hirothon "save the bounty hunter, save the galaxy" one.

You did see my photos of Michael Keating and many of the others from 2004 (http://pics.livejournal.com/vilakins/gallery/00005k80)? He's still extremely handsome and fanciable, and has worn the best of the men IMO. :-D

A challenge? No, I was thinking more of you combining elements of what you'd done for naarmamo already. No pressure. I suggest there would be hearty approval, and not just from me, if you did draw Vila with a flower behind his ear :D But no, it's not something I think you absolutely have to do.

I am tempted. Vila with a flower behind his ear... how adorable.

It's a nice image to think about, whatever you do.

Oh yes, that's it! The leaves look the same.

I thought at first that the background was photographic, but when I looked more closely at a leaf at the top, I could see it was painted. You've done a lovely job there. The contrast between the flower and the background is very satisfying.

I think that's my favourite art so far this month.

I only used about four shades of green; the background was easy: all black.

Really? Wow. It didn't start well at all (and the photo was out of focus) but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.

Beautiful. No idea what flower it is...like you I'm hopeless with botany.

Actually I find some of the leaves behind the flower even more interesting. Some of them seem almost 3D.

It turns out it's a clivia from South Africa. :-)

Thanks. I was pleased that they came out so well, esp the one at the top.

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Day 8 - Flower in my garden

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