The Naked Ladies are Blooming

The Naked Ladies are Blooming

These gorgeous lilies appear out of nowhere this time of year. There are many of them around the town, and they are everywhere in my yard. Their true name is Amaryllis Belladonna. The giant bulb of the plant produces sort of unruly green foliage in spring, reminding us of the August treat to come. The foliage dries away, and in my case gets removed due to messiness before the plant spikes appear.

My gardener neighbor growing up had a patch of these in an otherwise dry and uninteresting spot in her side yard. I always looked forward to seeing the spikes, then the gorgeous pink blossoms. What I looked forward to most, however, was the scent of these beauties. Scent is very nostalgic for me, and these send me right back to the hot summer days in Lake County. A bouquet graces my entry way now, every so often giving me a whiff of lusciousness and memory.
So far my posts seem to be about my garden, but please be patient. Soon I will tell you more about the wonderful "old girl" called the Wallace Hansen house. Having been around for about 130 years, she has some good stories to tell.

This is Echium, a plant native to the Canary Islands, and imported here for Portugal, as I understand.
It grows pretty much wild here, and can be invasive, but I love seeing where it will pop up in the yard each year. It varies from the color of the sky to pink/blue. The leaves are interesting as well, and can have pink veins on them.
These Tower of Jewels, as they are called, provide food for bees and hummingbirds.
One friend commented that they reminded her of something Dr. Seuss would think up, and I agree!

This one looks to me like a jouster's sword.

 

 

Think left and think right and think low and think high.

         Oh! the Thinks you can think up if only you try!

                                                      Dr. Seuss

                                                           

This year a whole little orchard of them popped up in the front yard.

       

To all of us who just can't help it, who would still rather live in an old house even after fixing one up, remember the words of the poet:  He who loves an old house never loves in vain.
                                                                     -Isabel La Howe Conant. "Old House".

This is the story of my love affair with an old house, the overgrown garden surrounding it, and the hypnotically beautiful landscape beyond. The house and garden reveal new things to me all the time, compelling me to share some of my experiences here. Enjoy!