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Monday 3 October 2011

HIPPIES...their time; Hippeastrums;
































All the Hippeastrums are grown from seed from a couple of bulbs I received 20 years ago. I have bought a pink, white and appleblossom, last year, which have flowered once. Hopefully I will get some more variations.
The above are  a small selection of all subtle and also more flamboyant variations.

Hippeastrum  is a genus of about 90 species and 600+ hybrids and cultivars of bulbous plants in the family Amaryllidaceae. Native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas from Argentina north to Mexico and the Caribbean. Some species are grown for their large showy flowers. These plants are popularly but erroneously known as Amaryllis, a monotypic African genus in the same family.

"Hippeastrum" is Greek for "horseman's star". It was chosen in 1837 by the Honorable Reverend William Herbert, Dean of Manchester.  No one is entirely sure why he picked this name, it's likely he chose it because of the plant's striking resemblance to the "morning star", a medieval weapon used by horsemen, as William Herbert was both a clergyman and something of an expert on early medieval history. A version of the weapon was also called a "holy water sprinkler," an ecclesiastical object with which the Dean would have been familiar.
The first commercial breeders of Hippeastrum were Dutch growers who imported several species  from Mexico and South America and began developing cultivars and hybrids from them in the 18th century; the first of these reached North America early in the 19th century. In 1946 two Dutch growers moved to the Union of South Africa and began cultivation there. Although most cultivars of Hippeastrum come from the Dutch and South African sources, bulbs are now being developed in the United States, Japan, Israel, India, Brazil and Australia.
Some excerpts from Wikipedia.




Believe it or not
"How the world turns. One day, cock of the walk. Next, a feather duster."
 Aunty Entity - Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)



22 comments:

  1. There's some fabulous variations amongst your collection of Hippies. You've got some really lovely blooms to show today.

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  2. I love these blooms, Trudi. Especially when a whole lot of them start blooming all at the same time!

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  3. Wonderful and beautiful 'Hippies'.
    - und viele liebe Grüße Gisela

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  4. Titania, I love the Hippies too, and I will have one in my home in wintertime. Unglaublich sogar bei solch himmlischen Blumen, denken die einen an Waffen...Wahnsinn. Morgenstern gefällt mir besser! Alles Gute für Dich, *frohbin* wieder von Dir zu lesen!-:)))
    Liebe Grüsse
    Elfe

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  5. such gorgeousness! and in garden... wow. it's the uttermost christmas-flower in sweden, with the company of hyacinths, so it'll be some months yet before it's visible here.

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  6. Bernie♥ thank you very much for your visit. I have been away AGAIN, to Noosa, thoroughly spoiled at the Sebel. Now back in to the garden duties. ♥T.

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  7. Sunita♥ thank you for your visit. Yes, I love it too, their vigorous abundance at flowering time. I have found many more under mountains of ferns and other take overs! ♥T.

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  8. Elfe♥ Ja, mir auch, ich habe das gleiche gedacht! Ich glaube wir sind die "Normalen" ♥lichst. T.

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  9. Pia♥ so nice to hear from you. Not long to Xmas...happy days ♥T.

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. Hi Trudi, these are truly fabulous!!! Love them all!!
    I linked up to your rosella post today. I made some chutney and thought about your post and hence the link.:)Hope you'll stop by to check it out.

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  12. Hello Titania, These are very beautiful and vibrant-looking!

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  13. What a fabulous collection!

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  14. Hello Titania! These are very fine pictures of the "Hippies", colors and shades are amazing, I've enjoyed all the photos.
    Happy Wednesday!

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  15. Hi Titania,

    I hope you're having an awesome week! I thought you might like this infographic I helped build about the health, mental, and financial benefits of gardening (http://blog.lochnesswatergardens.com/how-gardening-benefit/).

    If you think your readers would like it too, please feel free to use it on the Lavender & Vanilla blog. There's code at the bottom of our post that makes it super easy to post on your blog. It's all free (of course). If you have any questions about posting it, let me know and I'll try to help.

    I don't know where else to contact you so I just posted a comment here. :)

    Thanks!

    ~ Janey
    janealvarado83@gmail.com

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  16. These beautiful big blooms in various shades, are a real treat to my eyes. Your photos are wonderful too.

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  17. Ups, ich habe gestaunt, als ich las, dass diese Pflanze dem Morgenstern ähnlich sein soll, da habe ich doch lieber die Verbindung mit dem kirchlichen Gegenstand des "holy water sprinkler" (weiss leider nicht wie man diesem "Zerstäuber" in der kath. Kirche sagt). Bald ist ja auch bei uns wieder die Amaryllis erhältlich, die dann um die Weihnachtszeit in den Stuben blüht. Ich mag diese Blumen nicht so sehr, da sie hier ja meistens einzeln daher kommen...und nicht sehr stabil sind. Aber wenn sie in der grossen Anzahl wie deine "Hippies" erscheinen, ist es etwas ganz anderes. DAs leuchtende Rot strahlt so viel Lebenskraft und Freude aus. Ich hoffe, du bist gesund und munter!
    Viele liebe Grüsse
    Barbara

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  18. Beautiful flowers. Is the art of growing such a beauty. Nice photos. Greetings from Peter.

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  19. Sali Barbara, danke vielmals für dein liebes Bsüechli. Alles ist gut nur immer viel zu tun! Hugs Trudi.

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  20. To all my gardening friends who have taken the time to visit and write me a comment; thank you so much, I appreciate it very much, always.
    Bernie♥Sunita♥Gisela♥Elfe♥Pia♥April♥Kanak♥Pat♥
    Pietro♥Janey♥Meda♥Barbara♥
    Love and hugs T.

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  21. Would love to grow some Hippeastrum species too but most do not flower again well after the first season here unless I place them in fridges. ANyway, like your "Believe it or not" quote for this post ....

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