Profile of a Plant: Hippeastrum or Amaryllis

 

• Common Name(s): Amaryllis is actually the common name even though it is the generic name for another plant that looks similar, but is a hardier specimen from South Africa.
• Scientific Name: Hippeastrum (hip-ee-AS-trum) from the Amaryllidaceae family. Hippeastrum is Greek for knights star. The common name, Amaryllis, is taken from the Greek word amarysso, which means "to sparkle," but there is no concrete story behind the name of this plant. Still, I do enjoy the shepherdess story that is circulating across the Internet. In Greek mythology, Amaryllis was the name of a shepherdess who shed her own blood to prove her true love, and in so doing inspired the naming of this bright red flower.

Guess the Photo Revealed

 

 The cropped photo from last week is actually an Amaryllis bud, just beginning to open! Want to learn more about Amaryllis plants? I'll be posting a plant profile tomorrow so take note of that and stop by sometime tomorrow. Have a great weekend everybody!

DIY Gourd Project: How to make a woodburned Gourd Clock

Guess the Photo Contest and Giveaway

Can you guess what's in the photo below? I cropped it out, but I'll show you the uncropped photo next Friday. The first person to have the closest guess will win a beautiful and original photo that you can use for personal or commercial use. Send your answers to: gardeningwithbernadette@gmail.com

Start guessing today!

Pinteresting Tuesday: Favorite Etsy Shops

Gourd Craft Video Tutorials by Bernadette's Gourd Creations

I put together a Pinterest board in order to collect all the videos I made about gourd crafting into one place for you to view.
1. I show you how to clean the outside of the gourd.
2. I show you how to cut open the gourd and clean the inside.
3. I show you how to use embossing powders on gourds.
4. I show you how to make a Art Deco inspired gourd with wax relief technique and coin shell stitched rim. 5. In my most popular video I show you how to woodburn a gourd with a roof.
6. In this video I show you how to make a decoupaged bird feeder with an original Robin motif.
7. I give you tips on how to attract specific birds to your gourd birdhouse.
8. I show you how to make a real simple birdhouse for Purple Martins.

Quick and Simple Weekend Woodburning Project

Quotes or special words painted on the wall have always caught my interest, but because it is difficult to repaint when the time comes I never cared much for applying the word art myself. However, I recently realized a decorative wooden name plate would be a perfect substitute for directly applying the wall quote. So, after gathering a few supplies I was able to complete the whole project in about an hour as a gift for my sister.

Home-canned Tomato Sauce vs. Store Bought? Any difference?

I just finished reading a post my dad wrote about homemade tomato sauce vs. store bought and thought to share it here on my blog. My dad makes a meatless spaghetti sauce and yesterday we enjoyed a pot full. It was one of the best batches - he even added big chunks of carrots which are stewed in the sauce and pick up all the wonderful flavors for one delicious bite!

See my dad's post here: http://blog.magiclandfarms.com/?p=462

See my sister's take on our homemade spaghetti sauce and a delicious Spaghetti bread recipe: http://sabbathsupper.blogspot.com/2010/12/we-call-it-spaghetti-bread.html

See how we make our homemade tomato sauce on the farm's YouTube channel: http://youtu.be/eDi6tRZOueA

Pinteresting Tuesday: Valentine Crafts and Ideas ♥

Growing Lettuce in Winter: Part 1

Starting lettuce in winter was successful for us. We transplanted it into a raised bed inside our unheated greenhouse. We covered the raised bed in a low tunnel as well, we then snaked a heating cable through the bed and set out a heat lamp that turned on when it got close to the freezing point. Step by step photos below will show you how we started the lettuce from seed. The interesting thing about this "lettuce-in-winter escapade" is

Bushnell Trophy Trail Camera in action

Bushnell Trophy Cam was found under the Christmas tree this year and we've been checking out the animal night life around here with not much luck. Although we did catch two kitties on video! Yet, over the weekend we set it up in our woods and took video of some deer. Big deal, right? But it was quite entertaining . . . you can see it on my family farm's YouTube channel. Make sure to subscribe, too!

Three DIY Craft Projects in Time for Valentine's

I made three more videos for Prime Publishing, each of them with a subtle Valentine theme. In the playlist below you will find how I made a Faux Etched Mirror with spray paint, how to make a decoupaged heart with pressed flowers, and how to make a hanging flower pot holder with an ice cream bucket. Check them out: