Saturday, January 20, 2007

Clivia



These are some photos of my Clivia in bloom last spring. There is also a yellow Clivia, when it first was available for sale it was over $200.00 for one plant, it is much cheaper now but still more than I am willing to pay.

Iowa is under another winter weather advisory, same as last Sunday, 4-7 inches of snow is predicted. It gives me hope for a snow day on Monday, but we would need about 13 inches of snow before my boss would consider it a legitimate excuse.

Clivia


All I Wanna Do is Lay in the Sun



This is Jon Pickles enjoying some sunshine today, he is a large cat but he manages to get in behind plants to soak up the rays. The leaves in the picture belong to a large Clivia plant that I have had for almost 20 years, it blooms every spring, last year it bloomed twice, in the spring and later in the summer. I transplanted it to a larger pot after it bloomed, they do not like to be transplanted but the roots were beginning to show on top of the soil. I hope it blooms this spring.

Reiman Gardens Butterfly House



Visiting Reiman Gardens in the middle of an Iowa winter is a wonderful way to spend the day. The gardens are awesome in the summer without a doubt but visiting the Butterfly House on a day when the temperature is only 0 or so is exhilaring! The Butterfly House is warm and toasty and full of tropical plants and butterflys of course, it is a great place to take pictures as well. There is also a wonderful conservatory that always has a gorgeous display. These pictures were taken in December, I can not wait to visit again soon, the flower display has been changed in the conservatory and I am sure there are new butterflys to see and photograph. If you have the chance to visit Reiman Gardens, do not hesitate it is well worth it. It is located on the grounds of Iowa State University. The money for it was donated by the Reimans, anyone who regulary reads their magazines has probably heard of it, they published (the company is now owned by Reader's Digest) Birds and Blooms, Country, Country Woman, Taste of Home, and other magazines, all of which are great reading.

Reiman Gardens Butterfly House


Reiman Gardens Butterfly House