naughty bits

I'm getting a little bit of both gardening and art in these days.

Yesterday I decided it was finally time to transplant the naked ladies (aka spider lilies, hurricane lilies, and a handful of other names) which I learned are not actually lilies, but are, instead, amaryllis. Whatever they are, they're beautiful, and the perfect addition to the garden, because when everything else is dying back after an exhausting summer, these pretty red flowers pop up . No matter how much I expect, wait or look for them, they are always a surprise: bright, wispy and modern.

Not failing to surprise even when transplanting, I thought I'd have 10-15 bulbs to move. I usually see 6 to 10 blooms a year. Ha. Let me say that again. Ha. These gals reproduce like a mosquito in heat. I must've dug up 60+ bulbs. Obviously they weren't blooming well, when you're talking about being stuck in a hole with that many of your peers, you'd refuse to bloom, too. Sometime after the first couple shovel fulls, I just decided to be less thorough and I'm sure I left some stragglers in the ground. If anyone comes looking for some naked ladies, there will at least be a few in the same spot--you know, leaving the red light on.

On that note, I'd like to find a nest of naked men, if anyone has any pointers. Oh wait, I think that's what they say Sodom and Gamorrah took care of and I'd rather stay out of any natural (or angry god-driven) disasters. The tornado warnings around here were a bit too much for my liking.

Really there is an insurmountable pleasure in finding out there were so many bulbs. I can trade, I can give, I can scatter them about and not worry too much if one or two don't make it.

Perhaps the new wealth averages out the $8 I spent on a hybrid cleome yesterday. $8 for an annual that won't necessarily self sow true to the parent plant? $8 for one plant. One. Plant. I've lost my mind. Since I usually consider annuals too finicky and a waste of money, $2 on an annual is a lot for me, $8 is unheard of.

(PS--I picniked the photo from their site, 'cause I'm gonna us it til I'm sick of rounded corner vintage-y images and probably more still.)


New distractions: The Makeshift Cook via Make Do--i.e. there's no need to go spend a fortune at the grocery store in order to save money and cook at home.

Things that I want: To do soon(ish): Make a lamp shade similar to these, but in black to go with a red vintage lamp I have that, in keeping with the theme, looks like it belongs to a lady of the night.

Somethings of reasonable fortitude: Working on learning Spanish--got a book on tape (mpe3 on iPod, actually). 5 pounds down, 55 to go!