Plant Talk: Amaryllis Awe

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December 23, 2009

Amaryllis Awe

Never a big poinsettia fan, I'm in awe at how long-lasting and showy amaryllis are - also easy care. Just don't water them too much, stake them up so they don't break off (as the one in the photo below, which is lasting just fine in a vase after toppling and breaking).

Most nurseries and even many grocery stores have them for sale around Christmas, so stock up and you won't need to buy bouquets for at least a month...The beauty below in my Langley kitchen is 'Orange Sovereign', a glorious shade I'd call tangerine; the soft pink 'Apple Blossom' and statuesque 'Snow White' are also stunners....it's like having a summer lily (minus the fragrance, unfortunately) in full bloom in your house in the middle of winter...

Photos courtesy of Debra Waterman:

Posted at 06:00 AM in amaryllis | Permalink

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Like you, I'm a fan of orange in the garden. Where oh where did you find "Orange Sovereign?" I think I need it to get through January here in the NW.

Posted by: Ruth | December 23, 2009 at 10:35 AM

Hi Ruth,
I found 'Orange Sovereign', already started and budded up, at Swanson's Nursery....enjoy..
Val

Posted by: valerie Easton | December 23, 2009 at 10:43 AM

My amaryllis is about to burst open...it might just be in time for Christmas morning.

Posted by: Karen | December 24, 2009 at 08:40 AM

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New Book: Petal & Twig

Petal & Twig Made The New York Times!
From Anne Raver's review: "Valerie Easton, a Seattle-based garden writer, discusses the art of growing and arranging cut flowers in “Petal and Twig: Seasonal Bouquets With Blossoms, Branches and Grasses From Your Garden” (Sasquatch Books; $16.95). Written as an informal diary, with photographs of arrangements from her own garden, and tips on cutting and keeping flowers fresh, the book inspires ideas not only on what to grow but on how to combine (or not) those beauties inside. See review here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/garden/new-books-on-growing-and-arranging-flowers.html?scp=1&sq=petal%20&%20twig%20anne%20raver&st=cse
The first reviews on the new book are in! From Publisher's Weekly:
"Open your eyes and keep it simple: those are two lessons Easton passes on from her own 40 years in the garden. When selecting and arranging flowers for bouquets, you needn’t spend a bundle buying a bundle of imported flowers.....The result will be unique, local, imaginative, and inexpensive. Color photos throughout illustrate and inspire."

In the News

Montreal Blogger Reviews "A Pattern Garden"
I was so pleased to find that "A Pattern Garden" is still being reviewed...check out Allan Becker's generous review on his Garden Guru blog.. I felt like Allan really understood what I was working towards in that book....he writes...."There is a delightful abstract quality to this publication. In it, the author takes good garden design to a higher, more spiritual level. Instead of discussing the aesthetic and scientific elements of design, as so many traditional garden design books do, she focuses on the role played in garden design by archetypal ideas - a.k.a. patterns - that reference the longings of human beings. These pleasure and comfort-rooted ideas are those that inspire designers to create gardens that are satisfying beyond their beauty." see more at http://allanbecker-gardenguru.squarespace.com/journal/valerie-easton
Planting art
Check out this interview with Val in the Chicago Tribune on using art in the garden...

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The New Low Maintenance Garden

Reviews Are In....
"Over the years, countless books have espoused a low-maintenance approach to gardening. None have been as engaging, practical, or inspiring as this latest of Easton's contributions to the gardener's bookshelf,"
- Pacific Horticulture magazine, Jan/Feb/Mar 2010
"A handy guide to a garden you can raise without a corresponding increase in your blood pressure..handsome and informative...."
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"This book is an invaluable addition to the garden library – destined to be a classic for many years to come."
- Garden Design Online

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The banner and portrait photos were taken by Jacqueline Koch; all other photos by Val Easton unless otherwise credited.

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