Marie Ann's Gardens and Pressed Flower Art

My belated Christmas wishes for everyone!

2010-12-26T15:13:00.000-08:00

Been another hectic holiday season for me and everyone, I'm sure! But I wanted to pop in here to wish you all a Happy Holiday Season. Here is the pressed flower card that I created for this year. I miss my beautiful cardinals that were so abundant where I grew up in North Carolina and in southern Missouri where I lived for 16 years. Sadly, we don't get these beautiful red birds here at my feeder in South Dakota. But I had a joyous time creating them from my summer petals and leaves! Wishing you all much peace and joy in the new year!

Made it into the South Dakota Magazine...second time...pinch me!!

2010-11-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

What a year this has been!!! You might have seen the nice little article the South Dakota Magazine folks did about my 'Mt. Rushmore' pressed flower art in their May/June issue this year. Well, now I am in the November/December issue! I got a call from John Andrews, their Departments Editor, in September. He was working on an article about his travels along our SD Hwy 20. He remembered my art from the previous story they did and wanted to see the rest of them. I had all my art in Watertown getting scans for fine art prints made so I met him at Expressions Gallery, where I have two of my originals. I just received my issue in the mail the other day and I'm so pleased with the article! John did a wonderful job! '...but still speaks with a slight Southern twang'...nawwwww...not me!

Here is what John wrote in the above article:
Eight miles down the road lies Wallace, birthplace of US Senator and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, though the sign announcing the town's claim to fame no longer stands along the highway. In Wallace we met Marie Ann Robinson, the state's only pressed flower artist. She gathers flowers, leaves, fruits and vegetables from her yard and creates award-winning pieces of art.
She showed us a sample of her work. In a Black Hills scene, a flowing waterfall is made from onion membrane, and the rocks are mushrooms. In another, the wooden walls and floor of a weathered building are day lilies. Robinson explained that after they die and are rehydrated, lilies develop a deep brown color and resembles wood grain when pressed. Her interpretation of Henri Matisse's Woman With a Hat uses peony petals, poinsettia and white poplar leaves. Robinson's popular South Dakota series includes pheasants, mallards, geese, buffalo and a work in progress featuring wild turkeys.
To prevent deterioration, the art is secured with aluminum tape and sealed beneath a layer of mylar and two pieces of glass. Oxygen absorbers and silica gel packets remove any moisture, so any changes in the botanical material won't be noticeable for decades.
In the early 1990's, Robinson was arranging wreaths and working with live flowers when she found a lily of the valley pressed in the pages of her grandmother's Bible. She learned about pressing flowers and began making small bookmarks and magnets (some are for sale at Watertown's Expressions Gallery, where you can also buy originals or prints of her larger pieces). Then a friend gave her a book on pressed flower art and she expanded into bigger pieces. She joined an international pressed flower art guild on the Internet, and learns many of her techniques from Russian and Ukrainian artists, including a new framing method that is similar to vacuum packing the art within the frame.
Robinson has lived in South Dakota since 2002, but still speaks with a slight Southern twang she developed growing up in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. She and her husband, a Webster native, lived on an acreage near Clark, where she tended 12 flower beds and a large vegetable garden. But a few years ago she decided to downsize. The flower patch at her Wallace home is considerably smaller, but she still finds what she needs around town and by exchanging materials with fellow artists.

Sunrise in South Dakota...awsome!!!

2010-11-08T05:45:00.000-08:00

We were at our place on the lake this past weekend and up early, of course, so my husband could get out there and hide in the pre-dawn...waiting on the ducks to wake up. He didn't shoot any ducks but I got some nice shots of our beautiful sunrise. Love the sunsets, too, but the morning sun comes up over the lake and colors up the sky and the water. These will be my inspiration shots for some pressed flower pictures I hope to create this winter. Enjoy!

Leaves are starting to fall...let's remember summer!

2010-09-21T06:45:00.000-07:00

We have had a very cool September here on the Great Northern Plains! Leaves are turning lovely shades of yellow...little bits of red and orange...mostly in the sumac. This year we even got to wear our shorts for a week or two. And got to jump in the lake! The gardens did well. Just wish the tomatoes had a bit longer to ripen. I still have some cosmos and marigolds blooming...most everything else has finished up. Now time to put the garden 'to bed'. I will pull out the Queen Ann's Lace and the Ammi Majus that would self-seed the world if left to their own devices! But the perennials I pretty much leave as they are till spring. The top growth catches the snow (don't even want to think about this stuff too much just yet!) and helps protect the plants from our occasional temps of 30 below (and really don't want to think of this at all!). Here are some pictures of my summer garden on Nine Mile Lake and my garden here in Wallace. Enjoy! Think of winter another day.

SD Public Broadcasting show about my gardens and art!

2010-09-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

Just like magic...I'm right there on TV!! What an exciting evening for us! And it turned out pretty well, I think, considering I was a nervous wreck throughout the 4 hours of taping and interview. Rina and Joel were very professional and did an outstanding job, first of all trying to calm me down. Rina's dialogue was perfectly accurate and Joel did a great job of filming and editing the piece. Thanks to both of these wonderful young people! Here's the link:
http://www.sdpb.org/tv/shows.aspx?MediaID=58521&Parmtype=TV&ParmAccessLevel=sdpb-all

SD Public Broadcasting will air my interview on September 2 at 8pm!!

2010-08-09T11:00:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful job these young folks did to make me feel comfortable during my interview! I was very impressed with their professionalism. Rina did the interview and Joel did the taping. Four hours and four tapes later I enjoyed their company for lunch.
I think it all went pretty well. I only had to stop them once, in the beginning, so I could catch my breath and get some water to help with extreme dry mouth...stress responses are noooooooo fun! The weather cooperated. No rain and no wind...a miracle in itself these days here on the Great Plains!
Now to wait for the airing of the segment on 'Dakota Life'. It is scheduled for Sept. 2 at 8pm and will run at other times during the entire month. And Rina will send me a copy of the segment on DVD...maybe they will let me post it here!

More news!!! Gonna be on TV!

2010-07-27T06:40:00.001-07:00

Well, I was just thrilled to have an article in our own South Dakota Magazine...and now I just found out that South Dakota Public TV wants to do a segment on my gardens and art for their 'Dakota Life' show!! Blew me away!
This is what happened: about 5 years ago my husband, Loren (I call him my biggest 'cheerleader'!), emailed the show to tell them about my art. Well, we never heard anything and soon forgot about it. Then the other day I got an email from them saying they want to do an interview and taping. Thank goodness I just finished my spring cleaning! Now to hope that we don't get any bad storms to tear up my gardens. They will be coming out next Wednesday, Aug. 4th. Already losing sleep over this! But should be lots of fun, too!

Gardens are a-bloomin'!

2010-07-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

In spite of the wind (recently had 4 days and nights of 30-40 mph winds!) my gardens are full of blooms. Sorry to say that I did lose my entire first flush of bee balm. But I cut off all the ruined blooms and many crispy leaves and now a new flush has started...so should get some nice ones to press soon.
The blue butterfly delphinium is an beautiful electric blue this year...these petals are essential for pressing and using for skies. And I add some of the white delphinium petals for clouds. I was a bit disappointed that the larkspur I let reseed (instead of using the fresh seed I bought!) has all turned out to be a single type flower. I can use these, but I really prefer the double larkspur for pressing. And I am once more having problems with powdery mildew on these plants. So far the delphinium is not affected...but just a matter of time now, I'm afraid.
I have gardens at two places, as you can see from the photos. My garden at the lake house is still in progress...but don't tell Loren, my husband!

My 'bud', Terica

2010-07-08T07:52:00.000-07:00

One of my best 'buds' at the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild is Terica. She is an excellent gardener, presser and artistist! And in her spare time (right!) she keeps up a really good blog:
http://flowersbyter ica.blogspot. com
She has a contest going on right now that, should you decide to enter, might win you 50 of her pressed flowers! And if you have a nagging notion that you might like to get into this wonderful art, Terica has loads of information on pressing and designing with flowers. Check her out!

Watertown Arts Festival...soggy but what fun!

2010-06-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

I showed my pressed flower art at the The Watertown Arts Festival that was held this past weekend! Even if the weather was drippy, cool and a bit windy there were many smiles on faces I saw. I think most of the artists were glad that they attended, as I sure was. From noon til the end of the show I offered folks a chance to make their own, free pressed flower bookmark. Who can resist flowers?! Young and old had a blast and went home with a new little treasure.
I would like to extend my heartfelt 'thank you' and also my congrats to the Watertown Business Association for a wonderful job in organizing this show. The committee, led up by Kay Solberg, did an excellent job with setting up this affair...the advertising was the best I have ever seen for events like these and everything went very smoothly in spite of the weather! We are all looking forward to next year's event and are encouraging all local artists to join us next year.
This year, as part of the Festival, all of the artists were invited to place one of their artworks in the Redlin Art Center in Watertown, SD. This is a hugely popular art center and features only the work of nationally know artist, Terry Redlin. To have our art hanging for the month of June in this prestigious art center is truly an honor and wonderful opportunity to share what we love to do with many more people. Julie, at the Center, organized a wonderful Artist's Reception on Friday night. Thanks so much, Julie! You made us all feel so special.
In addition to the wonderful opportunity at the Redlin Art Center the public was asked to vote for their favorite piece. There was an Award's Dinner on Saturday night at the Goss Opera House and we learned of the results of the voting! I am so pleased to say that the piece I entered, my window box piece titled 'The Front Porch of Life', was awarded First Place in the Mixed Media category! I received many kind remarks about it and was so thrilled that some were even able to tell that it was made of pressed plant material. It is my dream that one day there will be a specific category in all shows for 'Pressed Flower Art'!
One of the best parts of this show was getting to meet so many talented and passionate artists! I look forward to many new friendships.
Thanks again to all who helped to make this event a success for us all.

My art made it into the South Dakota Magazine!

2010-06-11T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well, you can sure imagine how excited I was about getting my work in this magazine!! It is the most popular magazine in SoDak. You can find it in the May/June 2010 issue...and, of course, I bought several! All the folks at the magazine were so wonderful and helpful. I want to especially thank Katie Hunhoff for all her efforts...she was a delight to work with.
I also want to thank Brenda at Expressions Art Gallery and Frame Shop in Watertown, SD. Brenda volunteered to take the photos to send to Katie. I am still just clueless when it comes to this kind of technical stuff. She did a wonderful job with the photos. And I can't say enough about their excellent framing...all three pieces that I have entered in competitions were framed there. I have to think that the presentation these frames created added to my work...all three won ribbons! And now the best part...Dianna, at Expressions Gallery, asked me if I wanted to display this piece in the gallery! So I have finally reached my first goal...to get my work in a gallery. Dianna has it displayed with the magazine article. And it is right next to one of my favorite wildlife artists...Josh Spies!! This wonderful artist won the national duck stamp contest recently. He also has many of his pieces at the Goss Opera House in Watertown.

Philadelphia International Flower Show...other entry

2010-06-08T06:11:00.000-07:00

This picture, titled 'Front Porch of Life', is my other entry to the show. This one took the first place ribbon in it's category. I spent about 3 weeks on this one and leaned a lot, also. The walls and porch are made of the fall leaves of the day lily. They are brown and brittle when I pick them. Then they were re-hydrated and ironed dry and flat. The flowers in the window box are oregano blooms, white alyssum, purple candytuft, thyme sprigs and bachelor button petals. The watering can is made of the gray backsides of the white poplar tree leaves and the gloves are of fall leaves. This one is now on display the the Redlin Art Center in Watertown, SD. It is in a competition that is sponsored by the Watertown Business Association in conjunction with their Arts and Crafts Festival on June 12, 2010. I will be displaying my art at the Health Food Store on Kemp St. during this show.

Philadelphia International Flower Show Entries

2010-06-08T05:56:00.000-07:00

Last March I entered two pressed flower art pieces in the Philadelphia International Flower Show and was honored with awards on both! I was very pleased! Above is my Mt. Rushmore picture that took 3rd place in its category. This one was an extreme challenge for me. Took me 6 weeks to get this one done...but learned a lot in the process! The sky is made of blue and white petals of delphinium. The faces and most of the rest is made from the white/gray side of the white poplar tree and also from some weeds I found at our lake place that had gray undersides. I am also very happy to say that Expressions Art Gallery in Watertown, SD has asked me to let them display it in their shop! Finally got into a gallery!

2010-06-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Oh, my! Has it been that long since I've posted on here?! Lots has happened since my last post so guess I better get busy.
My fall shows went well. I sold my favorite piece, 'Time for a Rest'...the one with the geese landing in the harvested field. It went to a good home in Texas though. And I got 4 orders for 'Midnight'! I was glad I decided to take orders and after doing 3 more of him I think I got the technique, as well as drawing horses, down pat. I really want to do more with the cotton wood 'fluff'...found a couple of trees with the pods low enough that I can get to them before they 'pop'.
I met a wonderful lady on line recently who does beautiful work with pressed flowers and mandalas. I never heard of these but sure hope to be learning more soon...very intriguing. Here is the link to her website:
http://www.tamlondonhummingbirdarts.com
She is a truly wonderful blogger and is the one who has inspired me to get back to my own here. You will find a link to her blog on her home page. I am betting that you will be just as intrigued with her mandala art as I am!
Will post more tomorrow about the Philadelphia International Flower Show...stay tuned!

'Midnight'

2009-10-02T04:59:00.000-07:00

His name is 'Midnight' and I really, really enjoyed this piece! AND, you will never believe what this horse is made of...the 'cotton' from the cottonwood tree! This 'cotton' actually came from the Ukraine. It was sent to me by the instructor in our last month's class on the guild. This one was taught by Alyona, a wonderful master artist from Ukraine and she sent the 'cotton' to us. We have a ton of this floating through the air in the summer...looks like snow in summer sometimes! But I did not know how to collect it then. Next year I will have to talk some little fellow into shimmying up a tree to pick some of the seed pods for me before they 'pop'!
I plan on more of these! Hmmmmm...what else could I do with this...ideas, anyone?

Brook in the Woods

2009-09-28T04:43:00.000-07:00

Finally got back here! What a summer on the High Plains! Cool and wet for the most part. The perennials and the weeds loved it...the annuals and veggies shivered but finally gave me something for my hard work. Beans are still blooming, but the tomatoes are about to give it up!
Well, I did get a few classes completed this late summer. This one is called 'Brook in the Woods' and was a class done by guild member Elaine McMahon. We learned how to use mushrooms for rocks and onion membrane (yes, membrane...the very thin silvery skin between the layers of the onion!) for the water. And I used sanwa tissue over the background to soften it. Loved this class...thanks, Elaine!

The fourth piece in my 'South Dakota Wildlife Series'

2009-06-05T05:48:00.000-07:00

My goodness...what a challenge and a stretch this picture was! I learned so very much and thank Irina for another wonderful class. This one is titled 'Calm Morning on the Slough'...don't get many calm mornings on the High Plains! Our goal in the class was to learn how to use bark for sky and water. Since I don't find birch bark in this area that is readily available (would have to raid someone's yard tree!) a friend from the WWPFG sent me some from Pennsylvania...thanks, Nancy!
Birch bark is a tricky material to work with. If it is cut from the tree in the spring when the sap is running, I understand that it is easier to separate into thin sheets. And besides the obvious white their are a variety of pinks, yellows and beige colors in the individual sheets. All of the material used for the sky and water are done with sheets of birch bark. The muskrat houses are made of the faded day lily leaves. The trees are made of various skeletonized leaves and the mallard ducks are made of white poplar, banana skin and fall leaves.
Oh, just a bit more info about the muskrat houses that I didn't know til recently...ducks and geese sometimes make their nests right on top of these houses...high and dry and with a pent house view to boot!

My Latest Commissioned Piece

2009-05-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

What fun this one was! I was commissioned to do this by a customer (and now a friend!) in Tyler TX. This is the biggest piece I have done to date. It measures 4' x 1 1/2' and is designed to go over her headboard. I always enjoy commissioned pieces...first because I have made many new friends this way and also because I learn so much from them and the experience. They usually ask for something I have never done before so I get to stretch in a direction that is new to me. And I am also about to learn a whole lot more about shipping!
So, thanks to my new friend in Texas, here is my latest piece.

Picture of my Pasque Flowers

2009-05-04T05:18:00.000-07:00

Today I had time to run out and take a picture of my pasque flowers. They are so pretty and delicate. I found some interesting info on the 'State Symbols USA' website. Here is an excerpt:

Pasque Flower

The pasque flower (or pasqueflower) was designated the official state flower of South Dakota in 1903. Also called the May Day flower, prairie crocus, wind flower, Easter flower and meadow anemone, the pasque is one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring (often before the late winter snows have thawed).

Pasque is a tallgrass prairie flower and grows wild throughout South Dakota. The pasque flower is member of the buttercup family and is highly toxic (pasque flowers were used as a medicine by native Americans for centuries).

And...our 'other' state flower is starting to bloom now. We will see millions, maybe trillions of golden heads nodding soon and see their fluffy seed heads blowing in the wind. And we will have all the dandelion leaves we can consume! Dandelion wine, anyone?!

Hope your day is warm and sunny wherever you are!

Finally a Bloom Out There!

2009-05-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

No wonder the pasque flower is the South Dakota state flower! It's the first sign of spring here after, usually, long and very cold winters. There are not too many left now in the wild as most of our ground is either inhabited or, more likely, planted in crops. They are a very pretty lavender with a thick, long center. I have not tried pressing these yet but plan to very soon. I shall leave some of the blooms to go to seed. There should be, I hear, a lovely seed pod that can be used in fall arrangements.
Enjoy!

My Indoor Garden

2009-04-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well, it's supposed to be spring here, but all I have blooming in my garden is my pasque flowers. I would put a picture of those here but it is so windy, cold and cloudy that I don't think they even bothered to open up this morning! Can't blame them...not sure if I want to either!
But I do have my indoor garden in full bloom. The red amaryllis finished up and now my next one is open. Also you will see my orchid 'bouquet'...15 blooms on that beauty. Under the orchids is my cyclamen. The other one is my out-of-control trailing geranium. It is pink with a burgundy throat. Not sure of the name. But they are colorful and sure brighten my day! Hope they add a little something to your day!

Third Piece in My South Dakota Wildlife Series

2009-04-21T08:36:00.000-07:00

Well, got the third one done and I am having soooooo much fun with these! This one is a group of buffalo silhouetted against one of South Dakota's majestic sunsets. The sky is made of fall maple and oak leaves and the ground and buffalo are made of very dark poinsettia leaves. Hope you like it!
Next I hope to do an artwork with mallard ducks in a slough complete with cattails. This one will be done as my interpretation of the May class on the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild. Irina Orlova will teach this one. Can't wait!
We are getting warmer weather finally...my tulips are poking up. Need to find time to get out there and clean some things up a bit. Are you in your gardens yet?

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

I hope you are all having a wonderful Easter! Still pretty dreary here, but our spirits are high...it is finally getting warmer. The snow is almost gone!
I started my blog with my amaryllis re potting and now I just have to share a picture of the first blooms with you...my Easter present to you! The second one should bloom in a few days. It is white with red veins. My husband says this is his favorite flower. He calls it the 'Martian Plant'! I love it for the beauty and serenity it gives me at Easter time and because I am sooooo desperate for anything blooming this time of year. As you can see in the picture all is still pretty brown and bare outside. But my geraniums, cyclamen and orchids are all blooming right now. I am truly blessed!

The second piece in my 'South Dakota Wildlife Series'

2009-04-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

Hello to all!
The sun is shining, the birds are singing and the temps are going up instead of down! Yeahhhhh!
I have been busy in the workroom these past few weeks. I finally had some time to finish my interpretation of the class projects taught recently by Master Artist, Irina Orlova. What an excellent, patient teacher she is!
This one is titled ''Time for a Rest' and, like the one with the pair of pheasants below, depicts wildlife scenes from our Great Plains. I love the fall here on the plains when the geese fly through. I have seen thousands and thousands of them swarming around harvested corn fields and the sight is breathtaking. When we lived in Clark we had a small farm with an old 2-story house. There were corn fields all around us and I would go up to the 2nd story and open the windows to see and hear the geese flying and circling the fields. The sight and sound were almost overwhelming! I learned that part of the huge flocks would stay aloft, as lookouts, and circle while part of them would fly down to feed. Then those would fly up and relieve some of the others so they could feed. Pretty amazing, huh?! I made the sky of corn husk and used faded day lily leaves for the corn field. The geese are made from banana peel and white poplar leaves. The trees are done from fall leaves. The buildings are done with white poplar leaves and fall leaves.

Now I am working on a picture of buffalo silhouetted against one of our majestic sunsets. Stay tuned!

My entry in the Philadelphia Flower Show 2009

2009-03-26T05:09:00.000-07:00

Hello to all!
Well, the snow melted and then we got more...ughhhhhh! Where's spring?!
I am so thrilled to tell you that my first and only entry in this year's Philadelphia Flower Show took a first place ribbon! The theme for the show this year was 'Bella Italia'. It was held on March 1 - 8 and thousands of people attend every year. If you would like to see photos of the show and many of the entries in the Pressed Plant Material category and other competitive categories such as Arrangements, Horticulture and Orchid and many more please go to my website: http:/prairiepetalart.com
You will find links on my home page following an article I did there.
I am also very proud of all my fellow World Wide Pressed Flower Guild artists who entered the show! You will see their work also in the links and many took ribbons in their class.
The class I entered was the 'Italian Plate'. I had never done a pressed plant material design on a plate before. The first challenge was dealing with the curve of the plate. Li, a friend of mine on the guild, recommended that I use a tacky glue to hold the tough, thick leaves down for the background. And it worked great! Thanks again, Li! I drew the design out on tracing paper and then glued the pressed material to the tracing paper. Most of the picture is done from fall leaves that were sent to me by many of my guild friends from all over the country and even Canada! Thank you all, my friends! We don't have much for colorful trees here on the high plains of the Dakotas. The fruit bowl and the edging around the plate were done with delphinium petals. The highlights on the wine glass are done with corn husk. The grapes are done with the leaves from a Mountain Ash tree. Then I covered the plate with coating of a botanical glue and then sprayed it with a UV resistant acrylic spray to make it more durable.
This was all a real learning experience for me and I hope to enter next year and even attend! What fun to see all those flowers in March!

2009-03-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

Good morning! The snow is finally starting to melt up here and the sun is shining. Everyone I see has a big smile on their face today! Hurry spring...we are ready!
I finished a pressed flower picture that I would like to share with you all today. I did this one as an on line class project through the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild. Our instructor was Russian Oshibana (pressed plant material) artist, Irina O. One of Irina's most beautiful pieces was awarded a first place ribbon at the Philadelphia Flower Show that was held March 1 to March 8. She is a very accomplished artist and a wonderful instructor...we are very lucky to have her on our guild.
The picture we did was a winter scene. Since I live in South Dakota I decided to add a couple of pheasants to my picture...we are the 'Pheasant Capitol of the World', you know! And I changed the tree a bit to look more like what we have here. The technique for the sky was just intriguing! It is made of corn husk...the husk that is closest to the cob and is lighter, almost white in color. Then Irina taught us how to use onion skin for snow. The darkest parts of the tree are made with banana peel. If you are new to pressed flower/botanical art this may sound very strange to you as it sure did to us before trying it. Now all of us on the guild are looking suspiciously at all our fruits and veggies...nothing safe out there anymore!
Hope you like it. I learned volumes from Irina and can't wait for the next class!

Re-potting amaryllis today

2009-03-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

Well, it's 13 below zero this morning but the sunshine is here and very welcome...particularly after several blizzardy days on the northern plains. I decided today was a good day to re-pot something so started with the amaryllis that has been sitting in a cool closet since about mid November. I have many more houseplants that need to get new soil and bigger pots...maybe next week. Just really needed to get into some dirt and re-energize myself and watch something sprout soon!
I lifted the big bulbs right out of the pots with their dried up soil and all. Then I shook and teased off as much old potting soil as I could. I was happy to see all the healthy, fleshy white roots there. Then I cleaned out the pots in a sink of soapy water with a splash of bleach...rinsed well and dried. Next I put some new potting soil in the bottom and kind of teased it up the sides. I have learned to buy the best potting soil out there. Potting soil, I have learned, is not something you can economize on by getting the cheapest brand. My plants have done so much better since I learned this!
Oh, and I learned something else about the amaryllis bulb that I didn't pay attention to last year. I am a pressed flower/botanical artist and have been taking lessons on a wonderful guild I belong to...the World Wide Pressed Flower Guild. We have been extremely lucky enough to have several new Russian Oshibana artists teach master classes over the internet. What I have learned is to look at every organic thing as a potential for material in a pressed plant piece of art. And right there all around that bulb was the most beautiful bronze skin that needed to come off. In our last class we learned to use onion skin, banana peel and corn husk in our artwork. Well, I am saving a container of it and just know that it will fit somewhere in a future piece. If you want to see some examples of pressed flower/botanical art you can go to my website:
prairiepetalart.com
and find links to some beautiful pressed flower/botanical competition pieces at the recent Philadelphia Flower Show! (I will post more on the show soon!)
So back to my re-potting...I forgot to say that I added a (4 cup size) coffee filter in the bottom of the pots as the holes were big and didn't want the soil falling through. Works great! Then I added the soil and then placed the bulbs in so that the top of the bulbs remained about 1/3 above the soil. They both got a good drink of water til it ran out the bottom. I did let the water sit in an old gallon milk jug over night to leach out the chlorine and let it get to room temperature. Tooooooo cold right from the faucet! Then they went in a sunny window and soon I'll see something green and new and alive! Can't wait!