Spider Lily

 I have several spider lily bulbs that I germinate indoors and then plant outdoors. If the lilies bloom late in the summer or fall, they can be transplanted into containers and grown indoors.

 

Hymenocallis, or spider lily, is a genus of plants in the Amaryllidaceae family. This unique and elegant plant is sometimes called "sea daffodil" or "Peruvian daffodil."
Hymenocallis requires warmth to thrive outdoors. Spider lilies, available in white and red, are the most popular and widely grown plant worldwide.

A minimum temperature of 13 degrees Celsius is required for growth. Water moderately until the leaves appear green, then stop when the leaves begin to wilt in the fall. For the winter, the plant is dug up from the open ground and stored. Hymenocallis undergoes a dormant period during the winter.
This large, showy flower, rare in cultivation, is coveted by exotic plant collectors.
Hymenocallis is a beautiful flower, prized not only for its appearance but also for its wonderful fragrance, which is often strongest after sunset.

 

Hymenocallis has a tropical appearance when grown in containers. A blooming green garden on the veranda not only refreshes but also gives your home a pleasant look.

 

 

 

 

 

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Prishvin's Stories: Beginning of Autumn

Short stories about the nature of the autumn season by Mikhail  Prishvin , a Russian novelist (1873 -1954),  in the form of notes convey that touching mood of romance and pleasant sadness.

"Today at dawn one lush birch stepped out of the forest into the clearing, and another, timid, thin, dropped leaf after leaf onto the dark fir tree. Following this, as the dawn grew brighter and brighter, different trees began to appear to me differently. This always happens at the beginning of autumn, when after a lush and common summer a great change begins and all the trees begin to experience leaf fall differently.

I looked around. Here is a hummock, combined by the paws of black grouse. Previously, you would certainly find a feather of a black grouse or a wood grouse in the hole of such a hummock, and if it was speckled, you knew that a female had dug, if black - a rooster. Now in the holes of the combined hummocks lie not the feathers of birds, but fallen yellow leaves. And here is an old, old russula, huge, like a plate, all red, and the edges curled up from old age, and in the dish floats a yellow birch leaf.

Autumn dew has fallen. Flies are knocking on the ceiling. Sparrows are flocked. Rooks are in the harvested fields. Magpies graze in families on the roads. The dews are cold, gray. Another dewdrop in the axil of a leaf sparkles all day long".

As a child, I read many of Prishvin's stories about nature. Do you think his descriptions match the beginning of autumn in your area? 

 

 

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Nimphaeas

 Today I want to show you some photos from the botanical garden's conservatory. I especially liked the pool with lots of water lilies and lotuses. These are photos from my archive, reminding me of the wonderful time spent among the beautiful plants of the botanical garden.

 

A little history. In 1915, the New Botanical Garden on the outskirts of Munich opened to visitors. Over time, it has grown to 21 hectares. The garden has glass greenhouses and open areas among ponds and marshy water bodies. The diversity of flora and the distance from the noisy center attract wild birds, insects and amphibians to the garden that you will not see in other city parks.

 

Separate pavilions are reserved for aquatic plants. Thus, in one of them there is a pond for Victoria amazonica - the largest water lily in the world. In another pavilion, a mangrove forest has been recreated with a pond in which carp and other fish swim. From December to March, butterflies are released into the tropical greenhouse, which flutter very close, at arm's length.

Look at the water lilies (nymphaea) and lotuses in the pool. Their large round leaves can support a small weight. 

Have you ever been to the conservatory of the botanical garden?