Friday, February 16, 2007

Meet me at the Flower Show!

I have always been fascinated by bulbs. Growing up in Florida, they weren't something we had outside, and typically we would only visit our grandparents in the Midwest in the summer, so we would miss them there too. I remember several years when my mom would pick up a little potted hyacinth at the grocery store and put in my sister's and my room. I would watch it change every day and, when it bloomed, I would drink in the perfume until I felt dizzy! I don't remember seeing an amaryllis or daffodils or tulips until I was much older.
j
It's funny how some plants and flowers seem so familiar and ordinary and others are so mysterious and exotic, depending where you have lived. To me, hibiscus, allamanda, orchid trees, and jasmine were boring old flowers. Extraordinary? Snapdragons! Delphinium! Cherry blossoms! (I can recall believing that the pink trees in my gramma's paintings must be fictional!)
j
So now, as an adult, I love to jumpstart my spring by forcing bulbs indoors and watching the magic as they swell and explode into fragrant color. And over the top, crazy indulgence? The Northwest Flower and Garden Show, this week in Seattle. I'm going this weekend.
Amaryllis photos by me, manipulated in Photoshop with poster edges filter.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can almost feel the velvet touch of this flower petal. You did a great job creating that texture. Mom

Kim Carney said...

that is a nice photo manipulation! sorry, I missed you. I went for 45 minutes at the last hour ;( but I was disappointed this year.