Two for One on Macro Saturday

This morning I went out into the garden with my camera to take pictures of the Eucomis Autumnalis or PineappleLily that I have growing in a container.  As I was composing my shot along came a White Admiral butterfly and posed himself on the plant. This gardener being a blonde but no dummy pushed the plunger.   I love this little bulb.  I received it last year as a garden writer to give it a try.  This year it is just as striking as I remember it last year.  Gardenimports has many good quality plants that can be ordered online.  If you want to take a peek the site is http://www.gardenimport.com/

Eucomis Autumnalis is a relative of the hyacinth and so is a tender summer bulb.  The stalk on my plant is approximately 8inches tall. The stalk is composed of little white flower-ets with a cute tuft of leaf-like bracts at the crown.  The Pineapple Lily  comes from Zimbabwe and Malawi where it grows on the side of mountains or in grasslands.  The bulb can be planted in the ground in ordinary garden soil but would do much better in fertile soil.  Add an application of well rotted manure.   It can be grown in rockeries or herbaceous border or in containers. I give it a shot of fertilizer when I do the other containers.

In the fall I dig up the bulbs and shake off the soil.  Place them in a cool basement for the winter and repot in good container soil in the spring when the growing tip appears.

Macro Saturday at flowers-macrophotography is a meme for macro or close up shots.  Join us there.